坛子 (tán zǐ) — earthen jar; jar (made of clay)

Definition

noun

earthen jarjar (made of clay)

Measure word · 个

坛子。
Nǎi nai yòng tán zǐ yān le hěn duō suān cài.
Grandma pickled a lot of sauerkraut in an earthen jar.
坛子。
Zhè ge tán zǐ shì yé ye cóng xiāng xia dài lái de.
This earthen jar was brought from the countryside by Grandpa.
坛子。
Tā bǎ jiǔ dào jìn le yí gè dà tán zǐ lǐ.
He poured the wine into a large earthen jar.

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

坛tánearthen jar

子zǐnoun ending

坛 names an earthen jar, and 子 completes the familiar word 坛子.

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 壇; 坛 is its simplified writing.

土亶壇

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

亶

亶dǎn壇tán

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 壇 pairs 土 (earth) with 亶 as a sound component; the simplified 坛 is a later shorthand.

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Appears in