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圣诞卡 (Shèng dàn kǎ) — Christmas card

Definition

noun
Christmas card
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 圣诞卡。
    Měi nián shèng dàn jié qián wǒ dōu huì gěi péng you jì Shèng dàn kǎ.
    Every year before Christmas I send Christmas cards to my friends.
  • 圣诞卡。
    Tā shōu dào le hěn duō lái zì jiā rén de Shèng dàn kǎ.
    She received many Christmas cards from her family.
  • 圣诞卡。
    Hái zi men zài xué xiào shǒu gōng zhì zuò le piào liang de Shèng dàn kǎ.
    The children made beautiful Christmas cards by hand at 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.

圣诞holy birth
圣shèngholy诞dànbirth
偏正Modifier + head
卡kǎcard

圣 and 诞 give holy birth, and 卡 means card, so the whole is a Christmas card.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 聖; 圣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
呈
呈chéng聖shèng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 聖 puts 耳 (ear) beside 呈, which gives the sound; the simplified 圣 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 圣 →

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 誕; 诞 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword, speech
Sound part声符shēngfú
延
延yán誕dàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 誕 combines 言 (word, speech) with 延, which gives the sound; the simplified 诞 is a later shorthand.

Open 诞 →

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

卡 is made from 上 (up) and 下 (down), with their horizontal lines fused, showing something squeezed between above and below.

Open 卡 →
Appears in
Festivals & Holidays

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