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糖块 (táng kuài) — sugar lump, sugar cube

Definition

noun
sugar lumpsugar cube
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 糖块。
    Qǐng gěi wǒ yí kuài táng kuài.
    Please give me a sugar cube.
  • 糖块。
    Zhè ge táng kuài hěn tián.
    This sugar lump is very sweet.
  • 糖块。
    Tā bǎ táng kuài fàng jìn kā fēi lǐ le.
    He put the sugar cube into the coffee.

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.

糖tángsugar
块kuàilump

糖 gives the material and 块 the shape, so the word means a lump or cube of sugar.

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mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
唐
唐táng糖
Same sound today

糖 is made from 米 (rice) and 唐, which gives the sound táng.

Open 糖 →

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 塊; 块 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth; dust
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬼
鬼guǐ塊kuài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 塊 pairs 土 (earth; dust) with 鬼 as a sound part to show a clod of dirt. The simplified 块 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 块 →
Appears in
Flavors & Seasonings

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