瓶 (píng) — (bound form) bottle, vase, flask
Definition
瓶 is a bound noun meaning 'bottle/vase/flask' that always combines with a word in front (花瓶, 酒瓶) or the suffix 瓶子. It is not used alone — say 瓶子 to mean 'a bottle'.
bound form
bottlevaseflask
Easily confused
- 甁pínglook-alikebottle (variant of 瓶)
- 凭píngsound-alike(preposition) on the basis of, by means of
- 平píngsound-alike(adjective) flat, level, smooth
- 评píngsound-aliketo evaluate, to judge, to comment on (the quality or merit of)
- 呯píngsound-alikebang (sound of a gunshot, gong, or explosion)
- 坪píngsound-alikea unit of land area (approx. 3.3 m², used in Taiwan and Japan)
Examples
- 。Zhè ge píng zi shì bō li zuò de.This bottle is made of glass.
- 。Tā bǎ huā chā zài huā píng lǐ.She arranged the flowers in a vase.
- 。Bà ba mǎi le yì xiāng jiǔ píng.Dad bought a case of wine bottles.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
瓶 uses 瓦 to show an earthenware vessel and 并 for the sound. The original vessel had a long slender neck and narrow mouth.
Grammar
Appears in
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