封套 (fēng tào) — protective cover or case (for documents, scrolls, or valuable items); large envelope; wrapping or slipcase

Definition

封套 refers to a protective outer cover (slipcase for books, case for scrolls/documents). It is a physical wrapper, not the contents themselves — note that 信封 is the everyday word for a simple envelope.

noun
protective cover or case (for documents, scrolls, or valuable items)large envelopewrapping or slipcase
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 封套。
    Zhè fú gǔ huà xū yào yí gè jīng měi de fēng tào lái bǎo hù.
    This ancient painting needs a beautiful protective case to preserve it.
  • 封套。
    Tā bǎ wén jiàn zhuāng jìn fēng tào lǐ jì chū qù le.
    He put the documents into a large envelope and mailed them out.
  • 封套。
    Zhè běn jīng zhuāng shū de wài fēng tào yǐ jīng yǒu xiē mó sǔn le.
    The outer slipcase of this hardcover book is already a bit worn.

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.

封fēngseal
套tàocover

封 means seal and 套 means cover, together giving a protective case.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丰
丰fēng封fēng
Same sound today

The shape 封 is 丰 plus 土 (earth) plus 寸 (hand); 丰 was originally drawn as a tree seedling.

Open 封 →

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

  • 大大dàlarge
  • 長長chánglong

套 is made from 大 (large) and 長 (long), originally for something long, with some reference to hair; it later came to mean a cover or a linked group.

Open 套 →

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