灯心绒 (dēng xīn róng) — corduroy

Definition

noun
corduroy
Easily confused

Examples

  • 灯心绒，。
    Zhè jiàn jiā kè shì dēng xīn róng zuò de, chuān qǐ lái hěn shū fu.
    This jacket is made of corduroy and is very comfortable to wear.
  • 灯心绒。
    Xiàn zài hěn shǎo rén chuān dēng xīn róng kù zi le.
    Nowadays few people wear corduroy pants.
  • 灯心绒。
    Zhè tiáo dēng xīn róng qún zi shì wǒ zuì xǐ huan de.
    This corduroy skirt is my favorite.

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.

灯心lamp wick
灯dēnglamp心xīnwick
偏正Modifier + head
绒róngfabric

“灯心” lamp wick and “绒” fabric make a wick-like cloth.

Characters in this word

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
火火huǒ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng灯dēng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

灯 pairs 火, which shows fire, with 丁, which gives the sound.

Open 灯 →

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

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 绒 →

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