笤帚 (tiáo zhǒu) — whisk broom, small broom

Definition

A small hand-held broom (whisk broom), used for sweeping crumbs or dust off a table — smaller and lighter than 扫帚, the full-size floor broom.

noun
whisk broomsmall broom
Measure word · 把

Examples

  • 笤帚。
    Tā yòng tiáo zhǒu bǎ zhuō zi shàng de suì xiè sǎo gān jìng le.
    She used the whisk broom to sweep the crumbs off the table.
  • 笤帚。
    Wǒ zài shāng chǎng mǎi le yì bǎ tiáo zhǒu.
    I bought a small broom at the mall.
  • 笤帚。
    Zhè bǎ tiáo zhǒu bǐ dà sào zhou hǎo ná duō le.
    This whisk broom is much easier to hold than a big broom.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

笤tiáobroom
帚zhǒubroom

笤 and 帚 both mean broom, so the word names a whisk broom by putting two broom terms side by side.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

帚 originally drew a broom, with bristles on top and a tied handle below. In the modern shape, the top resembles 肀 and the lower parts can be seen as 冖 over 巾, but this is only a later breakdown.

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