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图书馆 (tú shū guǎn) — library

Definition

A place you go to borrow and read books. Different from 书店 (a shop where you buy books) and 库 (a storage warehouse, not for reading).

noun
library
Measure word · 家, 个

Examples

  • 图书馆。
    Wǒ cháng qù tú shū guǎn jiè shū.
    I often go to the library to borrow books.
  • 图书馆。
    Zhè ge tú shū guǎn yǒu hěn duō zhōng wén shū.
    This library has many Chinese books.
  • 图书馆。
    Xué xiào páng biān yǒu yì jiā tú shū guǎn.
    There is a library next to the school.

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.

图书books
图túmap书shūbook
联合Coordinate
馆guǎnhall

图书 covers books and maps, and 馆 is a hall, so 图书馆 is a place for books.

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 圖; 图 is its simplified writing.

  • 囗囗wéiwalled city
  • 啚啚bǐ

The traditional form 圖 pairs 囗, a walled city, with 啚, an early form meaning remote areas or territory. The simplified 图 is a later abbreviation.

Open 图 →

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 書; 书 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùwriting brush
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě書shū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 書 uses 聿, a writing brush, and 者 for its sound; the simplified 书 is a later shorthand.

Open 书 →

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 館; 馆 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
飠Written in full as食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
官
官guān館guǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 館 is made of 食, written as 飠 on the left, and 官 on the right; 官 provides the sound. The simplified 馆 is a later shorthand.

Open 馆 →
Appears in
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