牌子 (pái zi) — brand, trademark; sign, nameplate | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

牌子 covers both 'brand' (e.g. a brand of clothes) and 'sign/placard'. For 'brand' specifically, 品牌 is the more formal business/marketing term; 牌子 is the everyday word.

noun

brandtrademarksignnameplate

Measure word · 个

Examples

牌子。
Wǒ hěn xǐ huan zhè ge pái zi de yī fu.
I really like the clothes of this brand.
牌子。
Mén kǒu de pái zi shàng xiě zhe sān gè zì.
There are three characters written on the sign at the door.
牌子？
Nǐ zhī dào nǎ ge pái zi de shǒu jī zuì hǎo ma?
Do you know which brand of phone is the best?

Origin

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

子zǐsuffix

“牌” denotes a sign or nameplate, and “子” completes the everyday name for it.

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.

片卑牌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

卑

卑bēi牌pái

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

牌 puts 片, a flat piece, beside 卑, which gives the sound.

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 Marketing & Sales 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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