台布 (tái bù) — tablecloth; counter cloth

Definition

noun

tableclothcounter cloth

Measure word · 块

Easily confused

台布。
Qǐng bǎ tái bù pù zài zhuō zi shàng.
Please spread the tablecloth on the table.
台布。
Zhè zhāng tái bù shì bái sè de.
This tablecloth is white.
台布。
Wǒ xū yào yí kuài xīn de tái bù.
I need a new tablecloth.

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.

台 (table) and 布 (cloth) combine to mean cloth laid on a table.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臺; 台 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 台 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (窗台, 电视台) it is 臺; in others (台灯, 台球) (台风) it is 檯 or 台 or 颱.

The traditional form 臺 is the 喬 + 室 form; earlier versions combined a sound part with 室, and an old reading saw it as a watch tower.

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

巾巾jīnkerchief

Sound part声符shēngfú

父

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

布 pairs 巾, a kerchief, with 父 as a sound part.