酒器 (jiǔ qì) — wine vessel; drinking vessel (used for alcoholic beverages, often historical or ritual)

Definition

A vessel used for serving, holding, or drinking alcohol — typically historical or ritual (bronze, ceramic), not everyday tableware. Often used in museum or archaeology contexts for ancient Chinese artifacts.

noun
wine vesseldrinking vessel (used for alcoholic beverages, often historical or ritual)
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • 酒器。
    Zhè jiàn qīng tóng jiǔ qì shì xī zhōu shí qī de wén wù.
    This bronze wine vessel is a Western Zhou artifact.
  • 酒器，。
    Gǔ dài jiǔ qì de zào xíng fēi cháng jīng měi, zhǒng lèi yě hěn duō.
    Ancient wine vessels are beautifully shaped and come in many varieties.
  • 酒器。
    Bó wù guǎn lǐ chén liè zhe gè zhǒng táo cí jiǔ qì.
    The museum displays various ceramic wine vessels.

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.

酒jiǔwine
器qìvessel

酒 is wine, and 器 is vessel; together: a vessel for wine.

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu酒jiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Open 酒 →

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

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.

Open 器 →

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