摊床 (tān chuáng) — vendor's stand; market stall

Definition

noun
vendor's standmarket stall
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 摊床。
    Tā zài cài shì chǎng zū le yí gè tān chuáng mài shuǐ guǒ.
    He rented a stall at the market to sell fruit.
  • 摊床,。
    Zhè jiā tān chuáng de bāo zi tè bié hǎo chī, měi tiān dōu pái cháng duì.
    The buns from this stall are especially delicious, and there's a long line every day.
  • 。
    Tā měi tiān yí dà zǎo jiù dào shì chǎng bǎi tān chuáng.
    Every day he goes to the market early in the morning to set up his stall.

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.

摊tānstall
床chuángtable/stand

“摊” names a stall and “床” a table/stand, together a vendor's stand.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 攤; 摊 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
難
難nán攤tān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 攤 uses 手 (hand) and 難 for sound.

Open 摊 →

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

The 床 shape combines 广, a house, and 木, tree, to show a wooden bed inside a house.

Open 床 →

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