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饼干 (bǐng gān) — biscuit, cracker, cookie

Definition

饼干 refers to the dry, baked snack itself (biscuit, cracker, cookie). 饼 is the broader category — any round flat cake or pastry — so 饼干 is a specific type of 饼.

noun
biscuitcrackercookie
Measure word · 片, 块

Examples

  • 饼干。
    Mèi mei chī le yí kuài bǐng gān.
    My little sister ate a biscuit.
  • 饼干。
    Zhuō zi shàng yǒu liǎng piàn bǐng gān.
    There are two crackers on the table.
  • 饼干。
    Zhè zhǒng bǐng gān bǐ jiào tián.
    This kind of cookie is relatively sweet.

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.

饼bǐngflat cake
干gāndry

The dry quality of 干 describes the baked 饼, giving a crisp biscuit.

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 餅; 饼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
飠Written in full as食shífood
Sound part声符shēngfú
并
并bìng餅bǐng
Same sound today

The traditional form 餅 pairs 飠 (food) with 并 for the sound; the simplified 饼 is a shorthand.

Open 饼 →

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →
Appears in
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