囚徒 (qiú tú) — prisoner; convict | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

prisonerconvict

Measure word · 个

Examples

囚徒。
Nà ge qiú tú zhèng zài děng dài shěn pàn.
That prisoner is awaiting trial.
囚徒。
Jiān yù lǐ dà yuē yǒu sān bǎi míng qiú tú.
There are about three hundred prisoners in the prison.
囚徒。
Zhè xiē qiú tú měi tiān yǒu gù dìng de fàng fēng shí jiān.
These prisoners have a fixed daily exercise period.

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.

囚qiúimprisoned; prisoner

徒túperson

The 囚, an imprisoned person, goes with 徒, a person, to name a prisoner.

Characters in this word

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

囗人囚

囗囗wéibox, enclosure
人人rénperson

囚 puts 人 (person) inside 囗 (box, enclosure), making a person enclosed, hence prisoner.

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

辵辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

土

土tǔ徒tú

Same sound today

徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.

Appears in

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