(chú) — (bound morpheme) kitchen; cooking; cook (used in compounds)

Definition

厨 (chú) is a bound morpheme — it never stands alone, only appearing in compounds like 厨房 (kitchen), 厨师 (chef), 厨艺 (cooking skills). The standalone word for 'kitchen' is 厨房, not 厨.

bound form
(bound morpheme) kitchencookingcook (used in compounds)

Examples

  • Wǒ jiā de chú fáng hěn dà, yǒu quán tào xīn chú jù.
    My home's kitchen is very big, with a full set of new kitchen utensils.
  • Tā shì yì míng yōu xiù de chú shī, zuì shàn cháng zuò chuān cài.
    He is an excellent chef, best at cooking Sichuan cuisine.
  • Xué xiào xīn kāi le chú yì kè chéng, jiào xué shēng zuò jiā cháng cài.
    The school recently started a cooking course, teaching students to make home-style dishes.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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 廚; 厨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Sound part声符shēngfú
shùchú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form explained here is 廚, not 厨: the 广 part is about the meaning, and the 尌 part gives the sound.

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