回条 (huí tiáo) — receipt; note of reply (a written acknowledgment or response)

Definition

noun
receiptnote of reply (a written acknowledgment or response)
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 回条。
    Qǐng qiān shōu hòu bǎ huí tiáo jiāo huí.
    Please sign and return the receipt.
  • 回条。
    Tā shōu dào huí tiáo hòu lì jí què rèn le xìn xī.
    He confirmed the information immediately after receiving the note of reply.
  • 回条，。
    Zhè zhāng huí tiáo shì zhòng yào de píng zhèng, qǐng tuǒ shàn bǎo guǎn.
    This receipt is an important document; please keep it safe.

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.

回huíreply
条tiáoslip

'回' means reply, and '条' is a slip, so it is a written reply or receipt.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

回 comes from a drawing of a spiral, showing something turning around.

Open 回 →

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 條; 条 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu條tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 條 pairs 木, a small branch or stick, with 攸, which shows a person warned by a hand holding a stick, as a sound part; 条 is a later shortened shape.

Open 条 →

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