纸屑 (zhǐ xiè) — paper scraps

Definition

noun
paper scraps
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 纸屑
    Tā bǎ zhǐ xiè rēng jìn le lā jī tǒng.
    He threw the paper scraps into the trash can.
  • 纸屑
    Dì shàng yǒu hěn duō zhǐ xiè, xū yào dǎ sǎo yí xià.
    There are many paper scraps on the floor; they need to be cleaned up.
  • Tā yòng zhǐ xiè zuò le yì fú pīn tiē huà.
    She made a collage with paper scraps.

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.

zhǐpaper
xiètiny bits

纸 'paper' and 屑 'tiny bits' together mean small pieces of paper.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紙; 纸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
silk
Sound part声符shēngfú
shìzhǐ
Same sound today

For 纸, the traditional form 紙 combines 糸 (silk) with 氏 (the sound part).

Open 纸 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 屑 →

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