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面条 (miàn tiáo) — noodles

Definition

noun
noodles
Measure word · 碗

Examples

  • 面条。
    Wǒ jīn wǎn xiǎng chī miàn tiáo.
    I want to eat noodles tonight.
  • 面条。
    Zhè jiā de miàn tiáo hěn hǎo chī.
    The noodles at this place are delicious.
  • 面条。
    Mā ma qīn shǒu zuò de miàn tiáo wǒ zuì xǐ huan.
    I like the noodles my mom makes by hand the most.

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.

面miànflour
条tiáostrip

“面” (flour) and “条” (strip) combine to name a strip-like flour food.

Characters in this word

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

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →

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 條; 条 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu條tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 條 pairs 木, a small branch or stick, with 攸, which shows a person warned by a hand holding a stick, as a sound part; 条 is a later shortened shape.

Open 条 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 3Grains & StaplesFood (General)

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