新楼 (xīn lóu) — new building

Definition

noun
new building
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 新楼。
    Tā men gāng bān jìn zhè dòng xīn lóu.
    They just moved into this new building.
  • 新楼。
    Zhè dòng xīn lóu yǒu èr shí céng.
    This new building has twenty floors.
  • 新楼。
    xīn lóu De diàn tī sù dù hěn kuài.
    The elevator in the new building is very fast.

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.

新xīnnew
楼lóubuilding

新 means new, and 楼 denotes a building, together giving a new building.

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.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
斤斤jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn新xīn
Same sound today

The shape originally paired 斤, for chopping wood, with 辛 for sound. It was borrowed for its sound to write 新, so the chopping-wood parts are unrelated to 'new'.

Open 新 →

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 樓; 楼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
婁
婁lóu樓lóu
Same sound today

The traditional form 樓 pairs 木 (tree) with 婁 as its sound part; the simplified 楼 is a later shorthand.

Open 楼 →

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