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床单 (chuáng dān) — bed sheet

Definition

床单 is the fabric sheet that goes on the bed, not the bed itself (床).

noun
bed sheet
Measure word · 条, 件, 张, 床

Examples

  • 床单。
    Zhè tiáo chuáng dān shì xīn de.
    This bed sheet is new.
  • 床单。
    Wǒ měi zhōu huàn yí cì chuáng dān.
    I change the bed sheet once a week.
  • 床单。
    Mā ma bǎ chuáng dān xǐ gān jìng le.
    Mom washed the bed sheet clean.

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.

床chuángbed
单dānsheet

The 床 part points to a bed, and 单 gives a thin sheet, so the word names a bed sheet.

Characters in this word

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

The 床 shape combines 广, a house, and 木, tree, to show a wooden bed inside a house.

Open 床 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

Open 单 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 6Home & Housing

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