粗布 (cū bù) — coarse cloth | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

coarse cloth

Measure word · 块

粗布。
Zhè jiàn yī fu shì yòng cū bù zuò de.
This piece of clothing is made of coarse cloth.
粗布。
Guò qù rén men cháng yòng cū bù zuò bèi miàn.
In the past, people often used coarse cloth to make quilt covers.
粗布。
Zhè zhǒng cū bù shǒu gǎn hěn cū cāo.
This kind of coarse cloth feels very rough to the touch.

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.

“粗” coarse and “布” cloth form a type of coarse fabric.

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.

米且粗

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

且

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

粗 pairs 米 (rice), which points to its meaning, with 且, which gives a clue to its sound.

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

巾巾jīnkerchief

Sound part声符shēngfú

父

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

布 pairs 巾, a kerchief, with 父 as a sound part.