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烟灰缸 (yān huī gāng) — ashtray

Definition

noun
ashtray
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，烟灰缸？
    Qǐng wèn, nǐ men yǒu yān huī gāng ma?
    Excuse me, do you have an ashtray?
  • 烟灰缸。
    Tā bǎ yān huī gāng fàng zài zhuō zi shàng le.
    He put the ashtray on the table.
  • 烟灰缸。
    Zhè ge yān huī gāng shì bō li zuò de.
    This ashtray is made of glass.

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.

烟灰ash
烟yānsmoke灰huīash
偏正Modifier + head
缸gāngjar

烟 'smoke', 灰 'ash', and 缸 'jar' form a jar for ash.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 煙; 烟 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 烟 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (烟) it is 煙; in others it is 菸.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
垔
垔yīn煙yān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

This story is about the traditional form 煙, not the simplified 烟. It pairs 火, fire, with 垔, which gives the sound.

Open 烟 →

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

灰 shows 火 (fire) that can be touched by 又 (hand), meaning ash.

Open 灰 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 缸 →
Appears in
Everyday Objects

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