抹布 (mǒ bù) — dishcloth; cleaning rag | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

dishclothcleaning rag

Measure word · 块

Examples

抹布。
Tā yòng mǒ bù bǎ zhuō zi cā dé gān gān jìng jìng.
She wiped the table spotless with a dishcloth.
抹布。
Chú fáng lǐ de mǒ bù gāi huàn le.
The dishcloth in the kitchen needs to be replaced.
抹布。
Zhè kuài mǒ bù xī shuǐ xìng hěn hǎo.
This rag has great absorbency.

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.

抹 means wipe and 布 means cloth, so the word is a cloth for wiping.

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.

扌末抹

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

末

末mò抹mǒ

Same sound today

The left part 扌 is the hand component 手, showing an action done with the hand; the right part 末 gives the pronunciation.

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

巾巾jīnkerchief

Sound part声符shēngfú

父

父fù布bù

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

布 pairs 巾, a kerchief, with 父 as a sound part.

Appears in

Cleaning & Chores

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