榻 (tà) — (bound form) long, narrow couch or bed; (bound form, figurative) lodging, accommodation (in compounds like 下榻)
Definition
榻 is a bound form meaning 'long, narrow couch or bed', appearing only in compounds like 卧榻, 竹榻. In 下榻 it shifts figuratively to mean 'to stay/lodge' (at a hotel, etc.).
bound form
longnarrow couch or bed(bound form, figurative) lodgingaccommodation (in compounds like 下榻)
Easily confused
- 塌tālook-aliketo collapse (of structures, etc.)
- 踏tàsound-aliketo step on, to tread, to stamp
- 蹋tàlook-aliketo step on
- 拓tàsound-alike(bound form) to make a rubbing (of an inscription or pattern)
- 鳎tǎlook-alikesole (a type of flatfish)
- 挞tàsound-alike(bound form) to beat with a whip; to lash (used in literary compounds)
Examples
- 。Wǒ men zài zhè jiā jiǔ diàn xià tà.We are staying at this hotel.
- 榻。Tā de wò tà páng biān fàng zhe yì běn shū.Beside his couch was a book.
- ，榻。Xià tiān de shí hou, tā xǐ huan shuì zài zhú tà shàng.In summer, he likes to sleep on a bamboo couch.
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.
Sound part声符shēngfú
𦐇
𦐇𦐇榻tà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
榻 combines 木 (wood) with 𦐇, which gives its sound.
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