铜钹 (tóng bó) — brass cymbals | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

brass cymbals

Measure word · 副

Examples

铜钹。
Tā zài yuè duì lǐ dǎ tóng bó.
He plays cymbals in the band.
铜钹。
Zhè duì tóng bó de shēng yīn hěn xiǎng liàng.
This pair of cymbals has a very loud sound.
，铜钹，。
Yǎn chū shí, tóng bó yì xiǎng, quán chǎng dōu ān jìng le.
During the performance, when the cymbals sounded, the whole audience fell silent.

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.

钹bócymbal

铜 contributes the brass-like metal, 钹 contributes the cymbal, so the word names brass cymbals.

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

同tóng銅tóng

Same sound today

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

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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