封里 (fēng lǐ) — the inside front and back cover of a book

Definition

noun
the inside front and back cover of a book
Easily confused

Examples

  • 封里。
    Zhè běn shū de fēng lǐ yìn zhe zuò zhě de zhào piàn.
    The inside cover of this book has the author's photo printed on it.
  • 封里。
    Tā zài fēng lǐ shàng xiě le yí jù zèng yán.
    He wrote a message on the inside cover.
  • 封里。
    Jīng zhuāng shū de fēng lǐ tōng cháng yòng hòu zhǐ zhì zuò.
    The inside covers of hardcover books are usually made of thick paper.

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fēngcover
里lǐinside

封 refers to the cover and 里 to the inside, giving the inside of the cover.

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 →

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 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

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