饭票 (fàn piào) — meal ticket; mess card (a ticket or voucher for…

Definition

noun

meal ticketmess card (a ticket or voucher for a meal in a cafeteria or canteen)

Measure word · 张

，饭票。
Zhè zhōu mò shí táng bù shōu xiàn jīn, zhǐ néng yòng fàn piào.
This weekend the cafeteria doesn't accept cash; you can only use meal tickets.
饭票。
Tā měi gè yuè fā gōng zī dōu huì lǐng dào yì dié fàn piào.
Every month when he gets paid, he receives a stack of meal tickets.
饭票，。
Wǒ bǎ fàn piào wàng zài bàn gōng shì le, zhōng wǔ méi fǎ chī fàn.
I left my meal ticket in the office, so I can't have lunch.

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 票 means 'ticket', so it names a ticket for meals.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

反

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.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

票 combines 火 (fire) and 𢍱 (to rise high), originally representing sparks rising up.