能工巧匠 (néng gōng qiǎo jiàng) — skilled craftsman; master artisan

Definition

noun

skilled craftsmanmaster artisan

Measure word · 位

能工巧匠，。
Tā shì yí wèi néng gōng qiǎo jiàng, zuò pǐn fēi cháng jīng měi.
He is a skilled craftsman; his works are very exquisite.
能工巧匠。
Zhè xiē néng gōng qiǎo jiàng men jiàn zào le zhè zuò hóng wěi de gōng diàn.
These master artisans built this magnificent palace.
能工巧匠。
Hěn duō néng gōng qiǎo jiàng dōu chū zì zhè ge xiǎo zhèn.
Many skilled craftsmen come from this small town.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

能工skilled workers

偏正Modifier + head

巧匠skillful craftsmen

偏正Modifier + head

能 and 巧 describe skill, while 工 and 匠 name workers; together they mean skilled artisans.

Characters in this word

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

能 is an old picture of a bear, showing two paws and a face with an open mouth.

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

The shape of 工 is a picture of a bladed tool used to plow ground or mark a border; some read it as a carpenter's square.

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

工丂巧

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

丂

丂kǎo巧qiǎo

Same sound today

巧 is made of 工 and 丂; 工 points to its meaning, and 丂 points to its sound.

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

匚斤匠

Traditionally, 匠 combines 匚, a box, with 斤, an axe.