铜器 (tóng qì) — bronze or copper ware (especially ancient vesse…

Definition

noun

bronze or copper ware (especially ancient vessels and implements)

Measure word · 件

铜器。
Bó wù guǎn lǐ chén liè zhe xǔ duō gǔ dài tóng qì.
The museum displays many ancient bronze and copper artifacts.
铜器。
Zhè jiàn tóng qì shì xī zhōu shí qī de zhēn guì wén wù.
This bronze vessel is a precious cultural relic from the Western Zhou period.
铜器。
Kǎo gǔ xué jiā zài yí zhǐ zhōng fā xiàn le dà liàng tóng qì.
Archaeologists discovered a large number of bronze and copper items at the site.

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.

铜tóngcopper/bronze

器qìvessel/implement

铜 gives copper or bronze and 器 gives a vessel or implement, together naming bronze ware.

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 銅; 铜 is its simplified writing.

金同銅

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

同

Same sound today

The traditional form 銅 pairs 金 (metal) with 同 as the sound part; the simplified 铜 is a shorthand.

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.