镇纸 (zhèn zhǐ) — paperweight

Definition

noun
paperweight
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 镇纸。
    Tā shū zhuō shàng fàng le yí gè zhèn zhǐ.
    He placed a paperweight on his desk.
  • 镇纸。
    Zhè ge zhèn zhǐ shì yòng shí tou zuò de.
    This paperweight is made of stone.
  • 镇纸。
    Wǒ mǎi le yí gè piào liang de zhèn zhǐ sòng gěi péng you.
    I bought a beautiful paperweight as a gift for a friend.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

镇zhènpress
纸zhǐpaper

镇 (press) with 纸 (paper) names a thing that presses paper.

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 鎮; 镇 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
真
真zhēn鎮zhèn
Same sound today

The traditional form 鎮 uses 金, metal, and 真, which gave its sound; it depicted pressing down with a metal weight. The simplified 镇 is a later abbreviation.

Open 镇 →

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 紙; 纸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
氏
氏shì紙zhǐ
Same sound today

For 纸, the traditional form 紙 combines 糸 (silk) with 氏 (the sound part).

Open 纸 →

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