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百叶窗 (bǎi yè chuāng) — shutter; blind (window covering with adjustable slats)

Definition

noun
shutterblind (window covering with adjustable slats)
Measure word · 扇

Examples

  • 百叶窗。
    Wǒ jiā de chuāng hu shàng zhuāng le bǎi yè chuāng.
    My home has shutters installed on the windows.
  • ，百叶窗。
    Xià tiān de shí hou, bǎ bǎi yè chuāng lā xià lái kě yǐ dǎng zhù yáng guāng.
    In summer, pulling down the blinds can block the sunlight.
  • 百叶窗。
    Zhè zhǒng bǎi yè chuāng de yè piàn kě yǐ tiáo jié jiǎo dù.
    The slats of this type of blind can be adjusted to different angles.

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.

百叶many slats
百bǎihundred叶yèleaf
偏正Modifier + head
窗chuāngwindow

百叶 means many leaf-like slats, and 窗 is a window, giving a window covering with slats.

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
一一yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
十
十shí叶yè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 叶 pairs 口 (mouth) with 十 (ten) as an old form meaning cooperate; it later came to mean leaf because it sounded similar.

Open 叶 →

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

窗 combines 穴 (hole) with 囱 (window), giving the sense of an opening used as a window.

Open 窗 →
Appears in
Home & Housing

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