铁棒 (tiě bàng) — iron club; steel rod or bar

Definition

noun

iron clubsteel rod or bar

Measure word · 根

铁棒。
Tā yòng tiě bàng qiāo le jǐ xià tiě guǎn.
He struck the iron pipe a few times with the steel bar.
铁棒，。
Zhè gēn tiě bàng hěn zhòng, liǎng gè rén cái néng tái qǐ lái.
This iron club is very heavy; it takes two people to lift it.
铁棒。
Gōng rén men yòng tiě bàng lái jiā gù qiáng bì.
The workers use steel rods to reinforce the wall.

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.

棒bàngclub/stick

铁 'iron' and 棒 'club/stick' together name an iron club or steel rod.

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 鐵; 铁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢧤

𢧤𢧤鐵tiě

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鐵 pairs 金 (metal) with 𢧤 as a sound part; the simplified 铁 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.

木奉棒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree, wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

奉

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

棒 combines 木 (wood) with 奉, which gives the sound, to write a wooden club.