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螺丝钉 (luó sī dīng) — screw (hardware fastener); a person who plays a small but essential role (in a team or organization)

Definition

Literally 'screw' (the fastener), but it is also a metaphor for a small but essential person in a team — humble, reliable, and indispensable.

noun
screw (hardware fastener)a person who plays a small but essential role (in a team or organization)
Measure word · 颗

Examples

  • 螺丝钉。
    Wǒ xū yào yì kē luó sī dīng lái xiū zhè bǎ yǐ zi.
    I need a screw to fix this chair.
  • 螺丝钉，。
    Tā zài gōng sī lǐ yuàn yì zuò yì kē luó sī dīng, nǔ lì gōng zuò.
    He is willing to be a screw in the company, working hard.
  • 螺丝钉，。
    Měi gè yuán gōng dōu shì yì kē luó sī dīng, dōu hěn zhòng yào.
    Every employee is a screw, all are important.

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spiral thread
螺luóspiral丝sīthread
偏正Modifier + head
钉dīngnail

螺 suggests a spiral, 丝 suggests a thread, and 钉 suggests a nail, together naming a threaded nail.

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 →

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 釘; 钉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng釘dīng
Same sound today

The traditional 釘 pairs 金 (metal) with 丁 for sound; some theorize 丁 originally meant “nail,” so 釘 was created to write that word with metal added. The simplified 钉 is a shorthand.

Open 钉 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6

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