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螺丝刀 (luó sī dāo) — screwdriver

Definition

noun
screwdriver
Measure word · 把

Examples

  • 螺丝刀。
    Wǒ xū yào yì bǎ luó sī dāo lái xiū zhuō zi.
    I need a screwdriver to fix the table.
  • 螺丝刀，。
    Zhè bǎ luó sī dāo tài xiǎo le, nǐng bú dòng zhè ge luó sī.
    This screwdriver is too small to turn this screw.
  • 螺丝刀？
    Nǐ yòng luó sī dāo bǎ luó sī níng jǐn le ma?
    Did you tighten the screw with the screwdriver?

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.

螺丝screw
螺luóspiral丝sīthread
偏正Modifier + head
刀dāotool

螺 and 丝 give the spiral thread of a screw, while 刀 names the tool used with it.

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
虫虫chóng
Sound part声符shēngfú
累
累lèi螺luó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

螺 combines 虫, a part associated with creatures, with 累, which gives the sound.

Open 螺 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 絲; 丝 is its simplified writing.

  • 糸糸mì
  • 糸糸mì

In the traditional form 絲, the shape is two 糸 written together; this is about 絲, not the simplified 丝.

Open 丝 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 刀 comes from a simple picture of a knife.

Open 刀 →
Appears in
Miscellaneous Objects

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