单幅 (dān fú) — single width (of cloth or fabric)

Definition

Cloth-industry term for fabric cut to a single standard width, as opposed to 双幅 ('double-width') which is twice as wide. Always pairs with 布.

noun

single width (of cloth or fabric)

Measure word · 块

单幅。
Zhè zhǒng dān fú bù shì hé zuò chuāng lián.
This single-width cloth is suitable for making curtains.
单幅？
Qǐng wèn nǐ men yǒu dān fú hé shuāng fú liǎng zhǒng guī gé ma?
Excuse me, do you have both single-width and double-width specifications?
单幅，。
Wǒ mǎi le liǎng mǐ dān fú bù, zuò qún zi bú gòu.
I bought two meters of single-width fabric, not enough for a skirt.

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.

单 means single and 幅 is fabric width, so 单幅 describes cloth woven in one width.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

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

巾畐幅

Meaning part形符xíngfú

巾巾jīnclothing

Sound part声符shēngfú

畐

畐fú幅⁰fú

Same sound today

幅 is built from 巾, a component related to cloth or clothing, and 畐, which gives its sound.