卡宾枪 (kǎ bīn qiāng) — carbine (a short-barreled, lightweight rifle)

Definition

A loanword for 'carbine' — a short, lightweight rifle. The first character 卡 is a transliteration of 'car,' and 枪 is the generic word for 'gun.'

noun
carbine (a short-barreled, lightweight rifle)
Measure word · 把

Examples

  • 卡宾枪。
    Tā shǒu lǐ ná zhe yì bǎ kǎ bīn qiāng.
    He is holding a carbine in his hand.
  • 卡宾枪。
    Shì bīng yòng kǎ bīn qiāng dǎ bǎ.
    The soldier shoots at a target with a carbine.
  • 卡宾枪。
    Zhè zhǒng kǎ bīn qiāng hěn qīng biàn.
    This type of carbine is very light and portable.

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.

卡宾carbine
卡kǎ宾bīn
枪qiānggun

卡宾 spells the foreign word for carbine, and 枪 names a gun, so it means a carbine gun.

Characters in this word

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

卡 is made from 上 (up) and 下 (down), with their horizontal lines fused, showing something squeezed between above and below.

Open 卡 →

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 賓; 宾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèi
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡧍
𡧍𡧍賓bīn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 賓 is built from 𡧍 and 貝: 𡧍 gives the sound, and 貝 relates to the meaning. The simplified 宾 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 宾 →

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 槍; 枪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
倉
倉cāng槍qiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 槍 pairs 木 (wood) with 倉 as a sound part; the simplified 枪 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical component.

Open 枪 →

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