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美容院 (měi róng yuàn) — beauty salon, beauty parlor

Definition

noun
beauty salonbeauty parlor
Measure word · 家

Examples

  • 美容院。
    Tā měi zhōu qù měi róng yuàn zuò yí cì hù lǐ.
    She goes to the beauty salon once a week for a treatment.
  • 美容院，。
    Zhè jiā měi róng yuàn de fú wù hěn hǎo, jià gé yě hé lǐ.
    This beauty salon has great service and reasonable prices.
  • 美容院。
    Péng you tuī jiàn le yì jiā xīn kāi de měi róng yuàn.
    A friend recommended a newly opened beauty salon.

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.

美容beautify appearance
美měibeautify容róngappearance
动宾Verb + object
院yuàninstitution

美容 (beautifying the appearance) + 院 (institution) denotes a beauty salon.

Characters in this word

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

美 shows 大, a person, wearing 羊, a headdress of feathers or ram's horn.

Open 美 →

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
公
公gōng容róng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 容, the 宀 (roof) part points to holding or containing, and 公 gives the sound.

Open 容 →

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
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
完
完wán院yuàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

院 is built from 阝, written in full as 阜, and 完, which gives the sound.

Open 院 →
Appears in
Hygiene & Grooming

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