石棺 (shí guān) — stone coffin, sarcophagus | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

stone coffinsarcophagus

Measure word · 口

Examples

石棺。
Kǎo gǔ xué jiā zài mù xué zhōng fā xiàn le yí gè shí guān.
Archaeologists discovered a stone coffin in the tomb.
石棺。
Zhè ge shí guān diāo kè zhe jīng měi de huā wén.
This sarcophagus is carved with exquisite patterns.
石棺。
Bó wù guǎn zhǎn chū le yí jù gǔ dài shí guān.
The museum displayed an ancient stone coffin.

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.

石 (stone) tells the material of 棺 (coffin).

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木官棺

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

官

官guān棺guān

Same sound today

The 木 part marks a coffin as a wooden object, and 官 provides the sound.

Appears in

Miscellaneous Objects

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