原封 (yuán fēng) — (noun) original seal or wrapper on an item; extended sense: the state of being untouched / unchanged

Definition

原封 (yuánfēng) is a set phrase meaning 'original seal/wrapper still intact, untouched' — commonly used in 原封不动 ('untouched, exactly as it was'). It describes a state, not a single seal itself.

noun
original seal or wrapper on an itemextended sense: the state of being untouched / unchanged

Examples

  • 原封，。
    Zhè ge xiāng zi shàng de yuán fēng hái zài, méi rén dòng guò.
    The original seal on this box is still there — nobody has touched it.
  • 。
    Tā bǎ nà běn shū yuán fēng bú dòng dì fàng huí le shū jià.
    He put that book back on the shelf exactly as it was, without changing anything.
  • ，原封。
    Zhè xiē shāng pǐn rú guǒ zhì liàng wèn tí, kě yǐ yuán fēng tuì huán gěi chǎng jiā.
    If these products have quality issues, they can be returned to the factory unopened / in their original condition.

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.

原yuánoriginal
封fēngseal

原 gives original and 封 gives seal, together the original seal, hence untouched.

Characters in this word

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

原 combines 泉 (spring) and 厂 (cliff), picturing a spring bursting from a cliff-side, which gives the sense of origin or source.

Open 原 →

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
土土tǔearth
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丰
丰fēng封fēng
Same sound today

The shape 封 is 丰 plus 土 (earth) plus 寸 (hand); 丰 was originally drawn as a tree seedling.

Open 封 →

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