扑克牌 (pū kè pái) — playing cards | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

playing cards

Measure word · 副

Examples

扑克牌。
Zhōu mò wǒ men yì qǐ qù dǎ pū kè pái ba.
Let's go play cards together this weekend.
扑克牌。
Zhè fù pū kè pái de zhì liàng hěn hǎo.
This deck of cards is of good quality.
扑克牌。
Tā bǎ pū kè pái fàng zài zhuō zi shàng le.
He put the playing cards on the table.

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.

扑克poker

扑克 transliterates poker, and 牌 marks the item as cards.

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

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

卜

卜bǔ扑pū

Same sound today

扑 uses 手 (hand) for meaning and 卜 (bǔ) for sound.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

片卑牌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

卑

卑bēi牌pái

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

牌 puts 片, a flat piece, beside 卑, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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