小帽 (xiǎo mào) — small hat; cap | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

small hatcap

Measure word · 顶

Examples

小帽。
Tā tóu shàng dài le yì dǐng xiǎo mào.
He is wearing a small hat on his head.
小帽。
Zhè dǐng xiǎo mào shì yòng yáng máo zuò de.
This small hat is made of wool.
小帽。
Dōng tiān chū mén wǒ xí guàn dài xiǎo mào.
I'm used to wearing a small hat when going out in winter.

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.

“小” adds the idea of smallness to “帽”, giving a small hat or cap.

Characters in this word

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

八八bāto divide; to separate
丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

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

巾冒帽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

巾巾jīncloth

Sound part声符shēngfú

冒

冒mào帽mào

Same sound today

帽 uses 巾 (cloth) for the meaning and 冒 for the sound. The earlier form 冃 was later written with 目 and 巾 added.

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