舢板 (shān bǎn) — sampan (a small wooden boat used in East Asia)

Definition

noun

sampan (a small wooden boat used in East Asia)

Measure word · 条

舢板。
Yú mín men huá zhe shān bǎn chū hǎi bǔ yú.
The fishermen rowed a sampan out to sea to fish.
舢板。
Hé shàng tíng zhe jǐ sōu shān bǎn.
Several sampans are moored on the river.
舢板，。
Zhè sōu shān bǎn suī rán xiǎo, dàn hěn jiē shi.
This sampan, though small, is very sturdy.

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

舢shān

舢 and 板 do not carry separate meanings here; together 舢板 refers to a small wooden boat.

Sound-only characters

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

木反板

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

反

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

板 pairs 木 (tree) with 反 as a sound part.