银器 (yín qì) — silverware (tableware and other items made of s…

Definition

noun

silverware (tableware and other items made of silver)

Measure word · 件

银器。
Zhè tào yín qì shì zǔ fù liú gěi wǒ de.
This set of silverware was left to me by my grandfather.
银器。
Yàn huì tīng lǐ suǒ yǒu de yín qì dōu cā dé shǎn shǎn fā guāng.
All the silverware in the banquet hall was polished to a shine.
银器。
Bó wù guǎn shōu cáng le hěn duō gǔ dài yín qì.
The museum has a large collection of ancient silverware.

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.

器qìutensil

银 (silver) specifies the material of the 器 (utensil).

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 銀; 银 is its simplified writing.

金艮銀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

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

The traditional form 銀 has 金, meaning metal, and 艮, used for the sound; the simplified 银 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.

Appears in