粮票 (liáng piào) — (historical) a food ration coupon used in China from the 1950s to 1993

Definition

A historical paper coupon used in China (1950s–1993) to buy grain and other rationed food. Has no modern use, but appears in readings about everyday life before the reform era.

noun
(historical) a food ration coupon used in China from the 1950s to 1993
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • ，粮票。
    Xiǎo shí hou, wǒ men jiā měi gè yuè dōu yào yòng liáng piào mǎi liáng shi.
    When I was little, our family had to use grain coupons to buy food every month.
  • 粮票。
    Xiàn zài de nián qīng rén hěn nán xiǎng xiàng yòng liáng piào mǎi dōng xī de rì zi.
    Young people today can hardly imagine the days when you bought things with grain coupons.
  • 粮票。
    Tā zài jiù huò shì chǎng zhǎo dào le jǐ zhāng liù shí nián dài de liáng piào.
    He found a few grain coupons from the 1960s at the flea market.

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.

粮liánggrain
票piàocoupon

'粮' means grain and '票' means a ticket or coupon, naming a grain coupon.

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
米米mǐfood
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng粮liáng
Same sound today

粮 puts 米 (food) beside 良, which gives the sound liáng.

Open 粮 →

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

  • 火火huǒfire
  • 𢍱𢍱𢍱to rise high

票 combines 火 (fire) and 𢍱 (to rise high), originally representing sparks rising up.

Open 票 →

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