木偶 (mù ǒu) — puppet (literal or figurative) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A wooden figure used in puppet theater or as a metaphor for a person under another's control (as in 'a puppet of the politicians').

noun

puppet (literal or figurative)

Measure word · 个

Examples

木偶。
Zhè ge mù ǒu zuò dé fēi cháng jīng zhì.
This puppet is made very delicately.
木偶，。
Tā cāo zòng zhe mù ǒu, ràng guān zhòng hā hā dà xiào.
He manipulates the puppet, making the audience roar with laughter.
，木偶。
Zài nà zhǒng zhì dù xià, zǒng tǒng bú guò shì zhèng kè de mù ǒu.
Under that system, the president is nothing more than a puppet of politicians.

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.

偶ǒupuppet

木 means wood and 偶 means puppet; together they name a puppet made of wood.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

木 is drawn as a tree, with branches above and roots below.

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

亻禺偶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

禺

禺yú偶ǒu

Same sound today

偶 pairs 亻 (person) with 禺 for the sound. The evidence describes it as a statue of a person, an idol.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Games & Puzzles

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