札 (zhá) — (historical) thin wooden writing strip; letter; correspondence
Definition
A bound morpheme that today means 'letter' in compounds like 手札 (personal letter) and 札记 (reading notes). Historically it referred to thin wooden writing strips used in ancient China.
bound form
(historical) thin wooden writing striplettercorrespondence
Examples
- 札。Tā xiě le yì fēng xìn zhá.He wrote a letter.
- 。Lǎo shī yāo qiú wǒ men xiě yì piān zhá jì.The teacher asked us to write reading notes.
- 札。Tā gěi wǒ xiě le yì fēng shǒu zhá.He wrote me a personal letter.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
札 is built from 木, showing wood, and 乚 (written as 乙), which gives its sound. The whole shape points to a thinly shaved wooden tag used for writing.
Appears in
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