方糖 (fāng táng) — sugar cube; cube sugar

Definition

noun
sugar cubecube sugar
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 方糖。
    Wǒ xǐ huan zài kā fēi lǐ fàng yí kuài fāng táng.
    I like to put a sugar cube in my coffee.
  • 方糖，。
    Zhè zhǒng fāng táng shì jìn kǒu de, zhì liàng hěn hǎo.
    This kind of sugar cube is imported and of good quality.
  • 方糖，。
    Qǐng gěi wǒ liǎng hé fāng táng, xiè xie.
    Please give me two boxes of sugar cubes, thank you.

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.

方fāngsquare
糖tángsugar

The square shape of sugar gives a sugar cube.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 方 →

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
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
唐
唐táng糖
Same sound today

糖 is made from 米 (rice) and 唐, which gives the sound táng.

Open 糖 →

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