面纱 (miàn shā) — veil | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

veil

Measure word · 层

Examples

面纱。
Xīn niáng dài zhe yī céng bái sè de miàn shā.
The bride wore a white veil.
面纱。
Tā qīng qīng xiān qǐ le liǎn shàng de miàn shā.
She gently lifted the veil from her face.
面纱。
Shí jiān huì jiē kāi lì shǐ de miàn shā.
Time will lift the veil of history.

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 refers to the face, and 纱 is a thin cloth, together a face veil.

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.

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 紗; 纱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìthread

Sound part声符shēngfú

沙

沙shā紗shā

Same sound today

The traditional form 紗 uses 糸 to mark a thread-related meaning and 沙 for the sound. The modern simplified 纱 is a shortened form.

Appears in

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