公告牌 (gōng gào pái) — bulletin board; notice board

Definition

noun
bulletin boardnotice board
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 公告牌。
    Wǒ zài gōng gào pái shàng kàn dào le tōng zhī.
    I saw the notice on the bulletin board.
  • 公告牌。
    Gōng sī dà tīng lǐ yǒu yí kuài gōng gào pái.
    There is a bulletin board in the company lobby.
  • 公告牌。
    Qǐng bǎ zhè zhāng hǎi bào tiē zài gōng gào pái shàng.
    Please paste this poster on the bulletin board.

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.

公告public notice
公gōngpublic告gàonotice
偏正Modifier + head
牌páiboard

公 means public and 告 means notice, while 牌 means board; together they name a board for public notices.

Characters in this word

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

One theory sees 公 as a picture of a wide-mouthed, round-bottomed jar.

Open 公 →

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

The origin is unclear: one theory sees 告 as 壴 (a decorated drum) above 口 (an open mouth), while another sees a tongue sticking out of 口.

Open 告 →

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
片片piàn
Sound part声符shēngfú
卑
卑bēi牌pái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

牌 puts 片, a flat piece, beside 卑, which gives the sound.

Open 牌 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.