保护套 (bǎo hù tào) — protective cover; case; sleeve

Definition

noun
protective covercasesleeve
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 保护套。
    Wǒ de shǒu jī yǒu yí gè bǎo hù tào.
    My phone has a protective case.
  • 保护套。
    Zhè ge bǎo hù tào kě yǐ bǎo hù diàn nǎo bú bèi huá shāng.
    This cover can protect the computer from scratches.
  • 保护套。
    Nǐ qù mǎi yí gè bǎo hù tào ba.
    Go buy a protective cover.

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.

保护protect
保bǎoprotect护hùguard
联合Side by side
套tàocover

“保护” means to guard, and “套” is the cover that guards something.

Characters in this word

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

保 originally showed a person 人 carrying a child 子 on their back, which led to the sense of protecting.

Open 保 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
户
户hù护hù
Same sound today

护 combines 扌 (the hand form 手) with 户, which gives the sound hù.

Open 护 →

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

  • 大大dàlarge
  • 長長chánglong

套 is made from 大 (large) and 長 (long), originally for something long, with some reference to hair; it later came to mean a cover or a linked group.

Open 套 →

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