灯笼 (dēng long) — lantern | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A lantern you hang or hold — a decorated, often traditional container with a light inside, not a stationary lamp. 灯 covers everyday lights and lamps; 灯笼 is specifically the festive or decorative kind.

noun

lantern

Measure word · 个

Examples

，。
Chūn jié de shí hou, rén men xǐ huan zài jiā mén kǒu guà dēng long.
During Spring Festival, people like to hang lanterns at their doorways.
，灯笼。
Yuán xiāo jié dào le, jiē shàng guà mǎn le huā dēng long.
The Lantern Festival has arrived; the streets are full of colorful lanterns.
，灯笼。
Wài pó xiǎo shí hou hěn qióng, zhǐ néng zì jǐ zuò dēng long.
When Grandma was young, she was very poor and could only make lanterns herself.

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.

笼lóngcage/cover

灯 names the light, 笼 names the enclosing cover; together they mean a lamp-cover, i.e. a lantern.

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.

火丁灯

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

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 籠; 笼 is its simplified writing.

𥫗龍籠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

𥫗Written in full as竹zhú

Sound part声符shēngfú

龍

龍lóng籠lóng

Same sound today

The traditional form 籠 is built from 竹 (bamboo) and 龍, which gives the sound. The simplified 笼 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Chinese Culture & Customs Miscellaneous Objects

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