木桶 (mù tǒng) — wooden barrel, wooden cask, vat

Definition

noun
wooden barrelwooden caskvat
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 木桶。
    Zhè ge mù tǒng shì yé ye qīn shǒu zuò de.
    This wooden barrel was made by Grandpa himself.
  • 木桶。
    Jiǔ chǎng yòng dà mù tǒng lái chǔ cún pú tao jiǔ.
    The winery uses large wooden barrels to store wine.
  • 木桶,。
    Zhè ge mù tǒng yǐ jīng yòng le èr shí duō nián, hái shì hěn jiē shi.
    This wooden barrel has been used for over twenty years and is still sturdy.

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.

木mùwood
桶tǒngbarrel

“木” gives wood, “桶” gives barrel, together a barrel 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.

Open 木 →

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mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
甬
甬yǒng桶tǒng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 木 shows wood, and the right part 甬 gives the sound.

Open 桶 →

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