花篮 (huā lán) — flower basket; basket of flowers

Definition

noun

flower basketbasket of flowers

Measure word · 个

花篮。
Tā sòng gěi wǒ yí gè piào liang de huā lán.
He gave me a beautiful flower basket.
花篮。
huā lán Lǐ zhuāng mǎn le gè zhǒng xiān huā.
The flower basket is filled with all kinds of fresh flowers.
花篮。
Zhè jiā diàn chū shòu de huā lán fēi cháng jīng zhì.
The flower baskets sold at this shop are very exquisite.

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.

"花" means flower and "篮" basket, together mean a basket of flowers.

Characters in this word

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

艹化花

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

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 籃; 篮 is its simplified writing.

竹監籃

Meaning part形符xíngfú

竹竹zhúbamboo

Sound part声符shēngfú

監

監jiān籃lán

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 籃 puts 竹 (bamboo) over 監, which gives the sound; the simplified 篮 is a later shorthand.