兵工厂 (bīng gōng chǎng) — arsenal (factory that makes weapons and ammunit…

Definition

noun

arsenal (factory that makes weapons and ammunition)

Measure word · 家

兵工厂。
Zhè ge bīng gōng chǎng wèi jūn duì tí gōng dà liàng wǔ qì.
This arsenal supplies a large quantity of weapons to the military.
兵工厂。
Zhèng fǔ jué dìng guān bì lǎo jiù de bīng gōng chǎng.
The government decided to close the old arsenal.
，兵工厂。
Zhàn zhēng qī jiān, nà zuò bīng gōng chǎng rì yè shēng chǎn dàn yào.
During the war, that arsenal produced ammunition day and night.

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.

工厂factory

偏正Modifier + head

兵 (weapons) with 工 (work) and 厂 (factory) forms a weapons-making plant.

Characters in this word

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

兵 combines 斤, a short axe, with 廾, two hands, showing a pair of hands holding a weapon.

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

The shape of 工 is a picture of a bladed tool used to plow ground or mark a border; some read it as a carpenter's square.

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 廠; 厂 is its simplified writing.

广敞廠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

敞

Same sound today

The traditional form 廠 combines 广 with 敞, which gives the sound; the simplified 厂 is a later shorthand.