便笺 (biàn jiān) — notepaper; memo pad | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

notepapermemo pad

Measure word · 张

便笺。
Wǒ zài bàn gōng zhuō shàng fàng le yì dié biàn jiān.
I put a stack of notepaper on my desk.
便笺。
Qǐng yòng biàn jiān jì xià tā de diàn huà hào mǎ.
Please use a memo pad to write down his phone number.
便笺，。
Zhè běn biàn jiān de zhì liàng hěn hǎo, zhǐ hěn hòu.
This memo pad is good quality; the paper is thick.

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.

便biànconvenient

便 suggests convenience or ease, and 笺 is paper for writing; together they mean notepaper or a memo pad.

Characters in this word

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

亻更便

便 pairs 亻 (person) with 更 (to change), showing a person changing posture to become comfortable.

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 箋; 笺 is its simplified writing.

竹戔箋

Meaning part形符xíngfú

竹竹zhúbamboo

Sound part声符shēngfú

戔

戔jiān箋jiān

Same sound today

The traditional form 箋 combines 竹, bamboo, with 戔 to give the sound; it refers to a small bamboo strip or label. The simplified 笺 is a shorthand.