草帽 (cǎo mào) — straw hat | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

straw hat

Measure word · 顶

Examples

草帽。
Tā dài zhe yì dǐng cǎo mào.
He is wearing a straw hat.
草帽。
Xià tiān dà jiā dōu xǐ huan dài cǎo mào zhē yáng.
In summer, everyone likes to wear a straw hat to block the sun.
草帽。
Zhè dǐng cǎo mào shì yòng cǎo biān de.
This straw hat is woven from grass.

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.

草 names the material and 帽 names the hat, so it is a hat made of straw.

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.

艹早草

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

早

早zǎo草cǎo

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

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

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

巾冒帽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

巾巾jīncloth

Sound part声符shēngfú

冒

冒mào帽mào

Same sound today

帽 uses 巾 (cloth) for the meaning and 冒 for the sound. The earlier form 冃 was later written with 目 and 巾 added.

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