理发馆 (lǐ fà guǎn) — barber shop; hairdresser's

Definition

noun
barber shophairdresser's
Measure word · 家

Examples

  • 理发馆。
    Wǒ cháng qù nà jiā lǐ fà guǎn lǐ fà.
    I often go to that barber shop for a haircut.
  • 理发馆。
    Zhè jiā lǐ fà guǎn de fú wù hěn hǎo.
    This barber shop has good service.
  • 理发馆。
    Tā zài zhè tiáo jiē shàng kāi le yì jiā lǐ fà guǎn.
    He opened a barber shop on this street.

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.

理发cut hair
理lǐcut/manage发fāhair
动宾Verb + object
馆guǎnhall/shop

理发 means cutting hair, and 馆 names a hall or shop, together denoting a place for cutting hair.

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ理lǐ
Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Open 理 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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 館; 馆 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
飠Written in full as食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
官
官guān館guǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 館 is made of 食, written as 飠 on the left, and 官 on the right; 官 provides the sound. The simplified 馆 is a later shorthand.

Open 馆 →

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