茶匙 (chá chí) — teaspoon | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

teaspoon

Measure word · 把

Examples

茶匙。
Qǐng gěi wǒ yì bǎ chá chí.
Please give me a teaspoon.
茶匙。
Zhè ge shí pǔ xū yào liǎng chá chí yán.
This recipe needs two teaspoons of salt.
茶匙。
Tā yòng chá chí yǎo le yì sháo táng.
He scooped a spoonful of sugar with a teaspoon.

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.

The sense of 茶 as tea and 匙 as a spoon gives a small spoon for tea.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

余

余yú茶chá

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

In 茶, the 艹 part marks a plant, and the 余 part gives the sound.

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

是匕匙

Meaning part形符xíngfú

匕匕bǐspoon

Sound part声符shēngfú

是

是shì匙chí

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

匙 is made of 匕, meaning spoon, and 是, giving a sound hint.

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