推磨 (tuī mó) — to turn a millstone manually | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A 离合词 (separable verb): 推磨 means pushing a millstone round and round to grind grain — split as 推 + 磨, e.g. 推了一整天磨, 推过磨.

verb

to turn a millstone manually

Examples

，。
Tā tuī le yì zhěng tiān de mó, lèi huài le.
He pushed the millstone all day and was exhausted.
推磨。
Gǔ dài rén yòng lǘ lái tuī mó.
Ancient people used donkeys to turn millstones.
推磨，。
Tā měi tiān zǎo qǐ tuī mó, mò dòu fu mài.
He gets up early every day to turn the millstone and grind tofu to sell.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

磨mómillstone

推 is push and 磨 is millstone; the action is pushing the millstone.

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.

扌隹推

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

隹

隹zhuī推tuī

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

The left side 扌 is a hand, and the right side 隹 gives the sound; the character shows pushing with the hand.

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

石石shírock

Sound part声符shēngfú

靡

靡mí磨mó

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

磨 combines 石, showing rock, with 靡 for the sound.

Appears in

Agriculture & Farming

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