保险箱 (bǎo xiǎn xiāng) — safe, strongbox

Definition

noun
safestrongbox
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 保险箱。
    Tā bǎ xiàn jīn dōu suǒ zài bǎo xiǎn xiāng lǐ le.
    He locked all the cash in the safe.
  • 保险箱。
    Zhè ge bǎo xiǎn xiāng de mì mǎ zhǐ yǒu jīng lǐ zhī dào.
    Only the manager knows the password to this safe.
  • 保险箱。
    Xiǎo tōu méi néng dǎ kāi nà ge bǎo xiǎn xiāng.
    The thief couldn't open that safe.

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.

保险protection
保bǎoprotect险xiǎnrisk
动宾Verb + object
箱xiāngbox

保 means protect and 险 means risk, so 保险 suggests protection; 箱 is a box, making a safe box.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 險; 险 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
僉
僉qiān險
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 險 pairs 阝, written in full as 阜, with 僉, which gives the sound; the simplified 险 is a shorthand.

Open 险 →

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
𥫗Written in full as竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
相
相xiāng箱xiāng
Same sound today

箱 combines 竹, showing bamboo, with 相 as a sound part, to write a bamboo box or case.

Open 箱 →
Appears in
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