破烂儿 (pò làn ér) — junk; scrap; worthless stuff

Definition

noun
junkscrapworthless stuff
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 破烂儿。
    Tā bǎ zhè xiē pò làn ér dōu mài le.
    He sold all this junk.
  • 破烂儿。
    Jiē biān yǒu gè shōu pò làn ér de lǎo rén.
    There's an old man on the street who collects scrap.
  • 破烂儿，。
    Zhè xiē dōng xī yǐ jīng chéng le pò làn ér, méi shén me yòng le.
    These things have become junk and are useless.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

破烂broken and rotten
破pòbroken烂lànrotten
联合Side by side
儿érer

破 (broken) and 烂 (rotten) suggest worthless things; with 儿 it names junk.

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
石石shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
皮
皮pí破pò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

破 has 石 (stone) as its meaning part and 皮 as its sound part.

Open 破 →

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 爛; 烂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
闌
闌lán爛làn
Same sound today

The form 爛 pairs 火 (fire) with 闌 as the sound part; this explains 爛, not the simplified 烂.

Open 烂 →

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

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →

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