饭盒 (fàn hé) — lunch box | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

lunch box

Measure word · 个

Examples

饭盒。
Wǒ měi tiān dài fàn hé qù shàng bān.
I bring a lunch box to work every day.
饭盒。
Zhè ge fàn hé kě yǐ zhuāng hěn duō shí wù.
This lunch box can hold a lot of food.
饭盒。
Tā mǎi le yí gè xīn de fàn hé.
She bought a new lunch box.

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.

饭 means meal and 盒 means box, giving a box for a meal.

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 飯; 饭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

食食shífood

Sound part声符shēngfú

反

反fǎn飯fàn

Same sound today

The traditional form 飯 combines 食 (food) with 反 for the sound; the simplified 饭 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical form.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

Kitchenware & Tableware

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