水桶 (shuǐ tǒng) — bucket, pail | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

bucketpail

Measure word · 个

Examples

。
Wǒ yòng shuǐ tǒng qù dǎ shuǐ.
I use a bucket to fetch water.
水桶。
Tā mǎi le yí gè xīn shuǐ tǒng.
He bought a new bucket.
水桶。
Zhè ge shuǐ tǒng kě yǐ zhuāng èr shí shēng shuǐ.
This bucket can hold twenty liters of water.

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.

水 (water) and 桶 (bucket) combine to mean a bucket for carrying water.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木甬桶

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.

Appears in

Miscellaneous Objects

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