散装 (sǎn zhuāng) — sold in bulk, unpackaged (of goods)

Definition

adjective

sold in bulkunpackaged (of goods)

散装。
Wǒ yào mǎi sǎn zhuāng de bǐng gān.
I want to buy bulk cookies.
散装。
Chāo shì lǐ sǎn zhuāng de shāng pǐn bǐ bāo zhuāng hǎo de pián yi.
Bulk goods in the supermarket are cheaper than packaged ones.
散装。
Mǎi sǎn zhuāng de mǐ gèng huá suàn.
Buying bulk rice is more cost-effective.

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.

The loose, unpackaged sense of 散 tells what kind of 装 is meant: packaging.

Characters in this word

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

散 combines 林 (trees or forest) and 攴 (to knock or tap), originally showing knocking to clear vegetation, later extended to breaking up or dispersing.

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 裝; 装 is its simplified writing.

壯衣裝

Meaning part形符xíngfú

衣衣yīclothes

Sound part声符shēngfú

壯

壯zhuàng裝zhuāng

Same sound today

The traditional form 裝 pairs 衣 (clothes) with 壯 as a sound part; this story is about 裝, not the simplified 装.