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公用电话 (gōng yòng diàn huà) — public telephone; payphone

Definition

noun
public telephonepayphone
Measure word · 部

Examples

  • 公用电话？
    Nǐ néng bāng wǒ zhǎo dào zuì jìn de gōng yòng diàn huà ma?
    Can you help me find the nearest public phone?
  • 公用电话。
    Zhè tiáo jiē shàng zhǐ yǒu yí bù gōng yòng diàn huà.
    There is only one public phone on this street.
  • 公用电话，。
    Wǒ bú yòng gōng yòng diàn huà le, wǒ yǒu shǒu jī.
    I don't need a public phone; I have a mobile phone.

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.

公用public use
公gōngpublic用yònguse
偏正Modifier + head
电话telephone
电diànelectric话huàspeech
偏正Modifier + head

公用 marks public use and 电话 marks telephone, so it means a public telephone.

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 →

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

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →

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 電; 电 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn電diàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 電, 雨 (rain) sits with 申, read shēn and meaning lightning.

Open 电 →

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →
Appears in
Public FacilitiesPhones & Telecom

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