文件柜 (wén jiàn guì) — filing cabinet, file cabinet

Definition

noun
filing cabinetfile cabinet
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 文件柜。
    Zhè ge wén jiàn guì kě yǐ fàng hěn duō zī liào.
    This filing cabinet can hold a lot of materials.
  • 文件柜。
    Tā bǎ suǒ yǒu hé tong dōu suǒ zài wén jiàn guì lǐ.
    He locks all contracts in the filing cabinet.
  • 文件柜。
    Bàn gōng zhuō páng biān yǒu yí gè wén jiàn guì.
    There is a filing cabinet beside the desk.

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.

文件document
偏正Modifier + head
柜guìcabinet

文件 means document, from 文 (text) and 件 (item), and 柜 means cabinet, so the word is a cabinet for documents.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The current form 文 shows a man with head, arms, legs, and chest; the tattoo marks on the chest are no longer drawn.

Open 文 →

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

件 is made of 人, 'man', and 牛, 'cow'.

Open 件 →

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
巨
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

柜 combines 木 (tree) with 巨, which gives the sound.

Open 柜 →
Appears in

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