榔头 (láng tou) — sledgehammer; large hammer

Definition

noun

sledgehammerlarge hammer

Measure word · 把

榔头。
Tā ná qǐ láng tou jiù kāi shǐ qiāo.
He picked up the sledgehammer and started pounding.
榔头，。
Zhè bǎ láng tou tài zhòng le, wǒ ná bú dòng.
This sledgehammer is too heavy; I can't lift it.
榔头。
Gōng rén men yòng láng tou bǎ dà shí tou zá suì le.
The workers shattered the boulder with a sledgehammer.

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

榔lángbound part

头tóuword ending

The whole 榔头 names a hammer; 头 completes the word, while 榔 has no separate meaning.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

豆頁頭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

豆

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Appears in