奖牌 (jiǎng pái) — medal (awarded as a prize)

Definition

奖牌 is the physical medal (a metal disc) hung on a winner's chest. 奖杯 is a cup-shaped trophy; 奖品 is the prize in general (any gift).

noun

medal (awarded as a prize)

Measure word · 枚

Examples

奖牌。
Tā zài ào yùn huì shàng yíng dé le yì méi jiǎng pái.
He won a medal at the Olympics.
。
Zhè cì bǐ sài de jīn jiǎng pái yóu tā huò dé.
She won the gold medal in this competition.
奖牌。
Jiào liàn bǎ jiǎng pái guà zài yùn dòng yuán de xiōng qián.
The coach hung the medal around the athlete's neck.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

奖jiǎngprize

牌páitablet

奖 means prize and 牌 means tablet; together they mean a tablet given as an award.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獎; 奖 is its simplified writing.

將犬獎

Meaning part形符xíngfú

犬犬quǎndog

Sound part声符shēngfú

將

將jiāng獎jiǎng

Same sound today

The traditional form 獎 pairs 將 as a sound part with 犬, a dog; the simplified 奖 is a later shorthand. The evidence says the dog part's meaning is unclear, perhaps referring to guiding a dog by voice.

Open 奖 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

片卑牌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

片片piàn

Sound part声符shēngfú

卑

卑bēi牌pái

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

牌 puts 片, a flat piece, beside 卑, which gives the sound.

Open 牌 →

Appears in