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茶杯 (chá bēi) — teacup; tea-glass

Definition

noun
teacuptea-glass
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 茶杯。
    Tā mǎi le yí gè xīn de chá bēi.
    He bought a new teacup.
  • 茶杯。
    Bǎ chá bēi fàng zài zhuō zi shàng.
    Put the teacup on the table.
  • 茶杯。
    Zhè ge chá bēi shì táo cí zuò de.
    This teacup is made of ceramic.

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.

茶chátea
杯bēicup

A 杯 for 茶 is a teacup.

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.

Open 茶 →

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
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
不
不bù杯bēi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

杯 is built from 木, meaning wood, and 不, which gives the sound.

Open 杯 →
Appears in
Kitchenware & Tableware

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