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门铃 (mén líng) — doorbell

Definition

noun
doorbell
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 门铃。
    Qǐng àn yí xià mén líng.
    Please ring the doorbell.
  • 门铃，。
    mén líng Xiǎng le, kuài qù kāi mén.
    The doorbell rang, go open the door quickly.
  • 门铃。
    Xīn zhuāng de mén líng shì wú xiàn de nà zhǒng.
    The newly installed doorbell is a wireless one.

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.

门méndoor
铃língbell

门 specifies where the 铃 is used, giving a bell at a door.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →

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 鈴; 铃 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng鈴líng
Same sound today

The traditional form 鈴 pairs 金 (metal) with 令 as a sound part; the simplified 铃 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 铃 →
Appears in
Home & Housing

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