羽绒被 (yǔ róng bèi) — down quilt, duvet

Definition

A comforter/quilt filled with down (羽绒, the soft under-feathers), valued for being very light yet warm. A regular 被子 is the ordinary cotton or fiber quilt; 羽绒被 is lighter and warmer.

noun
down quiltduvet
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 羽绒被。
    Dōng tiān gài yì chuáng yǔ róng bèi hěn nuǎn huo.
    In winter, sleeping under a down quilt is very warm.
  • 羽绒被。
    Zhè tiáo yǔ róng bèi shì cóng wǎng shàng mǎi de.
    This down quilt was bought online.
  • 羽绒被。
    yǔ róng bèi Bǐ pǔ tōng bèi zi qīng duō le.
    A down quilt is much lighter than a regular quilt.

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.

羽绒down and feather
羽yǔfeather绒róngdown
联合Side by side
被bèiquilt

羽绒 names the down and feather material, and 被 is the quilt made from it.

Characters in this word

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

羽 comes from a picture of wings or feathers.

Open 羽 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 绒 →

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
衣衣yīclothing
Sound part声符shēngfú
皮
皮pí被bèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

被 pairs 衣 (clothing) with 皮, which gives the sound.

Open 被 →

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