屋顶 (wū dǐng) — roof | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

roof

Measure word · 个

Examples

屋顶。
Tā jiā de wū dǐng shì hóng sè de.
The roof of his house is red.
，屋顶。
Xià yǔ de shí hou, wū dǐng yì zhí zài dī shuǐ.
When it rains, the roof keeps dripping water.
屋顶。
Gōng rén zài wū dǐng shàng ān zhuāng tài yáng néng bǎn.
The workers are installing solar panels on the roof.

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.

屋 is the house and 顶 is its top, giving the roof.

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

室室shìroom

Sound part声符shēngfú

𡉉

𡉉𡉉屋wū

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

屋 comes from 室, meaning room, with 𡉉 for sound; its upper part later changed into an unrelated shape.

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 頂; 顶 is its simplified writing.

丁頁頂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng頂dǐng

Same sound today

The traditional form 頂 pairs 頁, meaning head, with 丁, which supplies the sound; the simplified 顶 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

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