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调羹 (tiáo gēng) — spoon

Definition

noun
spoon
Measure word · 把

Examples

  • 调羹。
    Tā yòng tiáo gēng hē tāng.
    He uses a spoon to drink soup.
  • 调羹。
    Zhè bǎ tiáo gēng shì yín zuò de.
    This spoon is made of silver.
  • 调羹。
    Qǐng gěi wǒ yì bǎ tiáo gēng.
    Please give me a spoon.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

调tiáostir
羹gēngsoup

From 调 stir and 羹 soup, a spoon for stirring soup.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
周
周zhōu調tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Open 调 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 羹 →
Appears in
Kitchenware & Tableware

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