黑管 (hēi guǎn) — clarinet

Definition

noun
clarinet
Measure word · 支

Examples

  • 黑管。
    Tā xǐ huan chuī hēi guǎn.
    He likes to play the clarinet.
  • 黑管。
    Wǒ mǎi le yì zhī xīn hēi guǎn.
    I bought a new clarinet.
  • 黑管。
    Tā zài yuè duì lǐ chuī hēi guǎn.
    He plays clarinet in the band.

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.

黑hēiblack
管guǎntube

It names a clarinet as a black tube.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 黑 seems to come from drawing a head marked with dots, usually read as facial tattoos.

Open 黑 →

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
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
官
官guān管guǎn
Same sound today

管 has 竹 (bamboo) on top to show it relates to bamboo, and 官 gives its sound.

Open 管 →

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