床头灯 (chuáng tóu dēng) — bedside lamp

Definition

noun
bedside lamp
Measure word · 盏

Examples

  • 床头灯。
    Wǒ shuì jiào qián xǐ huan kāi yí huì r chuáng tóu dēng.
    I like to turn on the bedside lamp for a while before sleeping.
  • 床头灯。
    Zhè zhǎn chuáng tóu dēng de guāng xiàn hěn róu hé.
    The light from this bedside lamp is very soft.
  • 床头灯。
    Tā zài chuáng tóu dēng xià kàn le yí huì r shū.
    He read a book for a while under the bedside lamp.

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tóuhead
偏正Modifier + head
灯dēnglamp

The 灯 is set near the 床's 头, giving a bedside lamp.

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
火火huǒ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng灯dēng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

灯 pairs 火, which shows fire, with 丁, which gives the sound.

Open 灯 →

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