波罗 (bō luō) — willow basket | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

willow basket

Measure word · 只

波罗。
Tā yòng yí gè bō luō zhuāng shuǐ guǒ.
He uses a willow basket to hold fruit.
波罗。
Zhè ge bō luō shì shǒu gōng biān de.
This willow basket is handmade.
波罗。
Nǎi nai yòng bō luō mǎi cài.
Grandma uses a willow basket to buy vegetables.

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

波 and 罗 carry no meaning of their own here; together they name a willow basket.

Sound-only characters

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

氵皮波

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 氵 is water, and the right side 皮 gives the sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 羅; 罗 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 羅 combines 网 (net) with 維 (a bird tied with string) to show a net for catching birds; the simplified 罗 is a later abbreviation.

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