邮购 (yóu gòu) — (noun) mail order; (verb) to order by mail | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

mail order

verb

to order by mail

Examples

邮购。
Wǒ zài wǎng shàng yóu gòu le yì běn shū.
I ordered a book online by mail.
邮购。
Zhè jiā gōng sī zhuān mén zuò yóu gòu fú wù.
This company specializes in mail-order services.
邮购。
Tā tōng guò yóu gòu mǎi le hěn duō yī fu.
She bought a lot of clothes through mail order.

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.

邮 mail and 购 buy together describe buying by mail.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 郵; 邮 is its simplified writing.

垂垂chuífar, remote
邑邑yìcity

The traditional form 郵 pairs 垂 (“far, remote”) with 邑 (“city”) to show a relay station; the simplified 邮 is a later shorthand.

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 購; 购 is its simplified writing.

貝冓購

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèishellfish

Sound part声符shēngfú

冓

冓gòu購gòu

Same sound today

The traditional form 購 pairs 貝, a shellfish, with 冓, which gives the sound; the simplified 购 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

Shopping & Errands

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