手提箱 (shǒu tí xiāng) — suitcase; attaché case | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

suitcaseattaché case

Measure word · 个

Examples

手提箱。
Tā tí zhe yí gè shǒu tí xiāng zǒu jìn le jiǔ diàn dà tīng.
He walked into the hotel lobby carrying a suitcase.
手提箱，。
Zhè ge shǒu tí xiāng hěn qīng, shì hé chū chāi yòng.
This suitcase is very light, suitable for business trips.
手提箱。
Tā bǎ zhòng yào de wén jiàn dōu fàng zài shǒu tí xiāng lǐ.
She put all the important documents in the attaché case.

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.

手提hand-carried

手shǒuhand提tícarry

偏正Modifier + head

手 and 提 show carrying by hand, and 箱 is the box; together they name a suitcase.

Characters in this word

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

扌是提

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

是

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

提 shows 扌 (hand) beside 是, which gives the pronunciation.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

𥫗相箱

Meaning part形符xíngfú

𥫗Written in full as竹zhúbamboo

Sound part声符shēngfú

相

相xiāng箱xiāng

Same sound today

箱 combines 竹, showing bamboo, with 相 as a sound part, to write a bamboo box or case.

Appears in

Travel & Tourism

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