画幅 (huà fú) — painting; picture; dimensions; format (of a picture or film)

Definition

画幅 literally means a single painting or picture (example 1). By extension it refers to the size or format of an image, especially the screen ratio of a film (wide format, 宽画幅).

noun
paintingpicturedimensionsformat (of a picture or film)
Measure word · 幅

Examples

  • 画幅。
    Qí bái shí de huà fú hěn yǒu míng.
    Qi Baishi's paintings are very famous.
  • 画幅。
    Zhè ge huà fú de dà xiǎo gāng hǎo shì hé zhè miàn qiáng.
    The size of this picture is just right for this wall.
  • 画幅，。
    Diàn yǐng yòng le kuān huà fú, kàn qǐ lái hěn hǎo kàn.
    The movie used a wide format, and it looks very nice.

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.

画huàpicture
幅fúwidth/format

画 picture and 幅 width/format combine for a picture or its size.

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 畫; 画 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùbrush
Sound part声符shēngfú
規
規guī畫huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 畫 pairs 聿, a brush, with 規 for its sound. The simplified 画 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the old parts.

Open 画 →

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
巾巾jīnclothing
Sound part声符shēngfú
畐
畐fú幅⁰fú
Same sound today

幅 is built from 巾, a component related to cloth or clothing, and 畐, which gives its sound.

Open 幅 →

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