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床头柜 (chuáng tóu guì) — bedside table, nightstand; (slang) henpecked husband

Definition

A compound noun: 床头 ('bedside') + 柜 ('cabinet'), the small table next to the bed. Slang meaning 'henpecked husband' — a husband who does whatever his wife says.

noun
bedside tablenightstand(slang) henpecked husband
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 床头柜。
    Wǒ zài chuáng tóu guì shàng fàng le yì zhǎn tái dēng hé yì běn zá zhì.
    I put a lamp and a magazine on the bedside table.
  • 床头柜，。
    Péng you xiào tā shì chuáng tóu guì, shuō tā shén me dōu tīng lǎo po de.
    His friends joked that he was a henpecked husband, saying he does everything his wife says.
  • 床头柜，。
    Xīn mǎi de chuáng tóu guì kuǎn shì jiǎn dān, hěn pèi wò shì de fēng gé.
    The newly bought nightstand has a simple style that matches the bedroom decor.

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.

床头bedside
床chuángbed头tóuside
偏正Modifier + head
柜guìcupboard

床 and 头 form the side of the bed, and 柜 is a cupboard, so it means a bedside table.

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 →

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 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Open 头 →

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
巨
巨jù柜
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

柜 combines 木 (tree) with 巨, which gives the sound.

Open 柜 →
Appears in
Furniture

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