编号 (biān hào) — (verb) to number; (noun) serial number | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

编号 is 'serial number' (a specific assigned identifier) or the verb 'to number' items in order. Unlike 号码 (a phone/room number) or 数目 (a quantity), 编号 marks items in a sequence like ID-001.

verb

to number

noun

serial number

Examples

编号。
Qǐng gěi měi jiàn shāng pǐn biān hào.
Please number each item.
编号？
Zhè ge shè bèi de biān hào zài nǎ lǐ?
Where is the serial number of this device?
编号。
Qǐng jì lù xià zhè ge biān hào.
Please write down this serial number.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

编biānarrange

编 means to arrange or assign, and 号 means number; together they refer to numbering or a serial number.

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 編; 编 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìthread

Sound part声符shēngfú

扁

扁biǎn編biān

Same sound today

The traditional form 編 pairs 糸 (thread), for knitting a book together, with 扁 as the sound part; the simplified 编 is only a shorthand.

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

口丂号

口口kǒumouth
丂丂kǎoexhaled air; a tiger's cry

The shape 号 comes from 口, a mouth, and 丂, exhaled air or a tiger's cry.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Order & Arrangement

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