老搭档 (lǎo dā dàng) — longtime partner (in work, collaboration, or re…

Definition

noun

longtime partner (in work, collaboration, or regular activity)

Measure word · 个

老搭档，。
Tā men liǎ shì duō nián de lǎo dā dàng, hé zuò fēi cháng mò qì.
They have been longtime partners and collaborate very seamlessly.
老搭档。
Wǒ hé wǒ de lǎo dā dàng yì qǐ wán chéng le zhè ge xiàng mù.
My partner and I completed this project together.
老搭档。
Zhè wèi yǎn yuán hé tā de lǎo dā dàng zài diàn yǐng lǐ pèi hé dé fēi cháng hǎo.
This actor and his longtime partner performed very well together in the movie.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

扌荅搭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

荅

荅dá搭dā

Same sound today

搭 is built from 扌, a hand, and 荅, which gives the sound. The hand part points to actions done with the hand.

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 檔; 档 is its simplified writing.

木當檔

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

當

當dāng檔dàng

Same sound today

The traditional form 檔 pairs 木, a tree, with 當 as the sound part. The simplified 档 is an abbreviation of 檔.

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