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宝库 (bǎo kù) — treasure house, treasury; (fig.) a rich source (of knowledge, wisdom, etc.)

Definition

A 'treasure house' — usually figurative, for a rich source of knowledge, culture, or wisdom (e.g., 知识的宝库). More literary than 仓库 (a literal storehouse); pairs with abstract sources the way 宝藏 names the treasures themselves.

noun
treasure housetreasury(fig.) a rich source (of knowledge, wisdom, etc.)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 宝库。
    Zhè zuò bó wù guǎn shì guó jiā lì shǐ de bǎo kù.
    This museum is a treasure house of national history.
  • 宝库，。
    Tā de shū fáng jiù xiàng yí gè zhī shi de bǎo kù, cáng mǎn le gè zhǒng shū jí.
    His study is like a treasure trove of knowledge, filled with all kinds of books.
  • 宝库。
    Zhè běn cí diǎn shì xué xí hàn yǔ de bǎo kù.
    This dictionary is a treasure house for learning Chinese.

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.

宝bǎoprecious
库kùstorehouse

宝 precious and 库 storehouse combine as a storehouse of precious things.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 寶; 宝 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀miánhouse
  • 琡琡chùjade
  • 貝貝bèicowry

The traditional form 寶 shows 宀 (house), 琡 (jade), and 貝 (cowry), drawn together as treasures in a house.

Open 宝 →

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 庫; 库 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎngbuilding
Sound part声符shēngfú
車
車jū庫kù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 庫 pairs 广 (building) with 車 (sound); the building part points to a storehouse. The simplified 库 is a later shorthand.

Open 库 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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