毛瑟枪 (máo sè qiāng) — Mauser (type of firearm, esp. historical)

Definition

毛瑟枪 is the Chinese name for the Mauser rifle/pistol, a German-made firearm brand, often used for historical or collector contexts rather than everyday 'gun' (枪). It's typically measured with 把 or 支.

noun
Mauser (type of firearm, esp. historical)
Measure word · 把

Examples

  • 毛瑟枪。
    Tā zài bó wù guǎn kàn dào le jǐ bǎ lǎo shì de máo sè qiāng.
    He saw several old-style Mausers in the museum.
  • 毛瑟枪。
    Zhè zhǒng máo sè qiāng zài èr zhàn zhōng hěn cháng jiàn.
    This kind of Mauser was very common in World War II.
  • 毛瑟枪。
    Lǎo lǐ shōu cáng le yì zhī dé guó zào de máo sè qiāng.
    Lao Li collected a German-made Mauser.

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.

毛瑟Mauser
毛máo瑟sè
音译Transliteration
枪qiānggun

毛瑟 sounds like Mauser and 枪 means gun, naming a Mauser-type gun.

Characters in this word

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

毛 is drawn as a feather or hair, with its strokes tracing the shape of the feather or hair.

Open 毛 →

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
珡珡qínmusical instrument
Sound part声符shēngfú
必
必bì瑟sè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape of 瑟 combines 珡, a musical-instrument part, with 必 to give the sound.

Open 瑟 →

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 槍; 枪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
倉
倉cāng槍qiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 槍 pairs 木 (wood) with 倉 as a sound part; the simplified 枪 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical component.

Open 枪 →

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