石雕 (shí diāo) — stone carving; carved stone

Definition

noun

stone carvingcarved stone

Measure word · 座

石雕。
Zhè jiàn shí diāo shì táng dài de zuò pǐn.
This stone carving is a work from the Tang Dynasty.
石雕。
Tā huā le yì nián shí jiān wán chéng zhè ge dà xíng shí diāo.
He spent a year completing this large stone carving.
石雕。
Zhǎn lǎn huì shàng yǒu xǔ duō jīng měi de shí diāo.
There were many exquisite stone carvings at the exhibition.

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 gives stone and 雕 gives carving, yielding a carving made in stone.

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.

周隹雕

Meaning part形符xíngfú

隹隹zhuī

Sound part声符shēngfú

周

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

雕 pairs 隹, a bird radical, with 周, which supplies the sound.