TongTong
Sign in

咖啡杯 (kā fēi bēi) — coffee cup

Definition

noun
coffee cup
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 咖啡杯。
    Zhè ge kā fēi bēi shì táo cí zuò de.
    This coffee cup is made of ceramic.
  • 咖啡杯。
    Qǐng bǎ kā fēi bēi fàng zài zhuō zi shàng.
    Please put the coffee cup on the table.
  • 咖啡杯。
    Tā měi tiān zǎo shàng yòng kā fēi bēi hē kā fēi.
    She drinks coffee from a coffee cup every morning.

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.

咖啡coffee
咖kā啡fēi
音译Transliteration
杯bēicup

咖啡杯 names a 杯 for 咖啡, where 咖啡 spells the sound of coffee.

Characters in this word

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
加
加jiā咖gā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part is 口, showing a mouth, and the right part is 加, which gives the sound jiā.

Open 咖 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi啡
Same sound today

啡 combines 口 (mouth) with 非, which supplies the sound.

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
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
不
不bù杯bēi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

杯 is built from 木, meaning wood, and 不, which gives the sound.

Open 杯 →
Appears in
Kitchenware & Tableware

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.