合叶 (hé yè) — hinge | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Hinge on a door or lid. Note: written 合叶 (or 合页) — the same word is also pronounced gě yè in some contexts, but here hé yè.

noun

hinge

Measure word · 副

Easily confused

合叶，。
Mén shàng de hé yè huài le, xū yào huàn yí gè xīn de.
The hinge on the door is broken and needs to be replaced with a new one.
合叶。
Zhè zhǒng hé yè kě yǐ chéng shòu hěn zhòng de mén.
This type of hinge can support very heavy doors.
合叶。
Ān zhuāng hé yè de shí hou yào zhù yì duì qí.
When installing the hinge, you need to make sure it's aligned.

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.

合héjoin/close

合 suggests joining or closing, and 叶 names a leaf-like part, together giving a hinge.

Characters in this word

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

亼口合

合 shows 亼 and 口 arranged as two mouths speaking together.

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

口十叶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

十

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 叶 pairs 口 (mouth) with 十 (ten) as an old form meaning cooperate; it later came to mean leaf because it sounded similar.