风琴 (fēng qín) — organ (musical instrument)

Definition

noun

organ (musical instrument)

Measure word · 架

风琴。
Tā zuó tiān mǎi le yí jià fēng qín.
She bought an organ yesterday.
风琴？
Nǐ huì tán fēng qín ma?
Can you play the organ?
风琴。
Jiào táng lǐ yǒu yì tái gǔ lǎo de fēng qín.
There is an old organ in the church.

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.

琴qíninstrument

风 (wind) + 琴 (instrument) names a wind-powered keyboard instrument.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

珡珡qín

Sound part声符shēngfú

今

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

琴 pairs 珡, the part tied to its sense as a stringed instrument, with 今, which gives the sound.

Appears in