拐杖 (guǎi zhàng) — walking stick; crutch | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

walking stickcrutch

Measure word · 根

Examples

拐杖。
Yé ye měi tiān sàn bù dōu zhǔ zhe guǎi zhàng.
Grandpa takes a walk with a walking stick every day.
，拐杖。
Tā shuāi shāng le tuǐ, xiàn zài bì xū yòng guǎi zhàng.
He injured his leg in a fall and now has to use crutches.
拐杖。
Dēng shān shí dài yì gēn guǎi zhàng huì ān quán hěn duō.
Bringing a walking stick when hiking makes it much safer.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

拐 (cane) and 杖 (stick) both refer to a walking support, giving the meaning of a crutch.

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

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

冎

冎guǎ拐guǎi

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

拐 pairs 扌, a hand radical written in full as 手, with 冎, which provides the sound guǎ.

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

木丈杖

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

丈

丈zhàng杖zhàng

Same sound today

杖 is built from 木, the wood part, plus 丈, which gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Injury & Disability Miscellaneous Objects

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