绕口令 (rào kǒu lìng) — tongue twister

Definition

noun

tongue twister

绕口令。
Zhè ge rào kǒu lìng hěn nán shuō qīng chǔ.
This tongue twister is very hard to say clearly.
绕口令，。
Tā měi tiān liàn xí rào kǒu lìng, kǒu chǐ yuè lái yuè liú lì le.
She practices tongue twisters every day, and her speech is getting more fluent.
绕口令，。
Wǒ men bǐ sài shuō rào kǒu lìng, kàn shuí shuō dé gèng kuài.
Let's have a contest to say tongue twisters and see who can say them faster.

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.

绕口twist the mouth

动宾Verb + object

令lìnga kind of verbal piece

绕口 suggests twisting the mouth, and 令 denotes a kind of verbal piece, giving a tongue-twisting verbal piece.

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 繞; 绕 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìrope

Sound part声符shēngfú

堯

堯yáo繞rào

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 繞 pairs 糸 (rope) with 堯 as a sound component; the simplified 绕 is a later shorthand.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

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

In 令, the upper 亼 is an open mouth and the lower 卩 is a kneeling person, together showing someone giving orders.