五金店 (wǔ jīn diàn) — hardware store

Definition

noun

hardware store

Measure word · 家

五金店。
Wǒ qù wǔ jīn diàn mǎi le yì xiē luó sī hé dīng zi.
I went to the hardware store to buy some screws and nails.
五金店。
Jiē jiǎo nà jiā wǔ jīn diàn kāi le èr shí nián le.
That hardware store on the corner has been open for twenty years.
五金店。
Tā dǎ suàn zài xiǎo qū fù jìn kāi yì jiā wǔ jīn diàn.
He plans to open a hardware store near the residential area.

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.

五金hardware

偏正Modifier + head

五金 names the metal goods and 店 names a shop, so 五金店 is a store for hardware.

Characters in this word

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

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

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

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

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

广占店

Meaning part形符xíngfú

广广guǎnghouse built to depend on a cliff

Sound part声符shēngfú

占

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

店 shows 广, a house built to depend on a cliff, and 占, which gives the sound.

Appears in