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店面 (diàn miàn) — shop front, storefront

Definition

noun
shop frontstorefront
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 店面。
    Zhè jiā diàn miàn de zhuāng xiū hěn xī yǐn rén.
    This storefront's decoration is very attractive.
  • 店面。
    Tā men dǎ suàn zū yí gè gèng dà de diàn miàn.
    They plan to rent a larger storefront.
  • 店面。
    Zhè tiáo jiē shàng de diàn miàn dōu hěn piào liang.
    The storefronts on this street are all very beautiful.

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.

店diànshop
面miànfront/surface

店 is the shop and 面 is its front, giving the storefront.

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
广广guǎnghouse built to depend on a cliff
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn店diàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

店 shows 广, a house built to depend on a cliff, and 占, which gives the sound.

Open 店 →

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

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →
Appears in
Business & Commerce

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