撬杠 (qiào gāng) — crowbar (also called pry bar) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

crowbar (also called pry bar)

Measure word · 把

Examples

撬杠。
Tā yòng qiào gāng bǎ xiāng zi qiào kāi le.
He used a crowbar to pry open the crate.
撬杠。
Gōng dì shàng sàn luò zhe jǐ gēn qiào gāng.
Several crowbars were scattered on the construction site.
撬杠。
Qǐng ná yì gēn qiào gāng lái bāng máng chāi mù bǎn.
Please bring a crowbar to help dismantle the wooden boards.

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.

撬 means to pry and 杠 is a bar, so together they name a bar used for prying.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

木工杠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng杠gàng

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

杠 has 木 (tree) on the left and 工 on the right. The 木 part is about wood, and 工 gives the sound.

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