宝物 (bǎo wù) — treasure

Definition

宝物 is a concrete 'treasure' — a valued physical object, often historical or heirloom. More tangible and object-like than the abstract 宝贝 (which can mean 'darling' or 'precious thing' of any kind).

noun
treasure
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 宝物
    Zhè zuò gǔ mù lǐ cáng yǒu xǔ duō zhēn guì de bǎo wù.
    This ancient tomb contains many precious treasures.
  • Tā bǎ zhè fú huà dàng zuò chuán jiā bǎo wù chuán gěi zǐ sūn.
    He passed down this painting as a family heirloom treasure to his descendants.
  • 宝物
    Tàn xiǎn duì zài hǎi dǐ fā xiàn le yì pī chén chuán de bǎo wù.
    The expedition team discovered a batch of treasures from a sunken ship at the bottom of the sea.

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.

bǎoprecious
thing

宝 means precious and 物 means thing; together they name a precious object.

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.

  • miánhouse
  • chùjade
  • 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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Open 物 →

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