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坠子 (zhuì zǐ) — plummet, weight (for measuring depth); pendant, earring; a type of folk ballad with drum accompaniment

Definition

坠子 is one noun with three unrelated meanings: a weight for measuring depth, a hanging ornament such as an earring or pendant, and a Henan folk ballad sung with drum accompaniment.

noun
plummetweight (for measuring depth)pendantearringa type of folk ballad with drum accompaniment
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 坠子。
    Tā yòng zhuì zǐ cè liáng jǐng de shēn dù.
    He used a plummet to measure the depth of the well.
  • 坠子。
    Tā dài le yí duì piào liang de yù zhuì zǐ.
    She wore a pair of beautiful jade earrings.
  • 坠子。
    Hé nán zhuì zǐ shì yì zhǒng chuán tǒng de qǔ yì xíng shì.
    Henan ballad with drum accompaniment is a traditional folk art form.

Origin

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.

坠zhuìpendant
子zǐsuffix

坠 (pendant) + 子: a hanging ornament, such as an earring.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
队
队duì坠zhuì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

坠 combines 土, an earth-related part, with 队, which gives the sound.

Open 坠 →

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.

Open 子 →
Appears in
Footwear & AccessoriesMusic

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