报馆 (bào guǎn) — newspaper office; press (the premises where a newspaper is edited and printed)

Definition

A formal/traditional term for a 'newspaper office' (the building where a newspaper is edited). In modern Chinese the usual word is 报社; 报馆 sounds literary or old-fashioned.

noun
newspaper officepress (the premises where a newspaper is edited and printed)
Measure word · 家

Examples

  • 报馆。
    Tā zài zhè jiā bào guǎn gōng zuò le èr shí nián.
    He worked at this newspaper office for twenty years.
  • 报馆。
    Nà jiā bào guǎn de jì zhě hěn yǒu míng.
    The reporters at that newspaper office are very famous.
  • 报馆。
    Jiù de bào guǎn yǐ jīng gǎi chéng le bó wù guǎn.
    The old newspaper office has been turned into a museum.

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.

报bàonewspaper
馆guǎnoffice

报 means newspaper and 馆 means office; together it names a newspaper office.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 報; 报 is its simplified writing.

  • 㚔㚔㚔handcuffs
  • 𠬝𠬝𠬝to subdue

The traditional form 報 puts 㚔 (handcuffs) beside 𠬝 (to subdue), showing someone restrained and subdued, as in convicting or punishing a guilty person. The simplified 报 is a later shorthand.

Open 报 →

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 館; 馆 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
飠Written in full as食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
官
官guān館guǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 館 is made of 食, written as 飠 on the left, and 官 on the right; 官 provides the sound. The simplified 馆 is a later shorthand.

Open 馆 →

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