复写纸 (fù xiě zhǐ) — carbon paper

Definition

noun
carbon paper
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • ，复写纸。
    Yǐ qián méi yǒu dǎ yìn jī, rén men yòng fù xiě zhǐ lái fù zhì wén jiàn.
    Before printers existed, people used carbon paper to duplicate documents.
  • 复写纸。
    Qǐng bǎ fù xiě zhǐ fàng zài liǎng zhāng zhǐ zhōng jiān.
    Please put the carbon paper between two sheets of paper.
  • 复写纸，。
    Zhè zhāng fù xiě zhǐ yǐ jīng yòng guò le, xū yào huàn yì zhāng xīn de.
    This piece of carbon paper has been used; we need to replace it with a new one.

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.

复写write again/copy
复fùagain写xiěwrite
偏正Modifier + head
纸zhǐpaper

复写 means to write again or make a copy, and 纸 is paper, so the word names carbon paper.

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 復; 复 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 复 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (复习, 恢复) it is 復; in others (复印, 复杂) (答复, 反复) it is 複 or 覆.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chìwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
复
复fù復fù
Same sound today

The traditional form 復 combines 彳, a walking part, with 复, a sound part, to show walking back and forth.

Open 复 →

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 寫; 写 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
舄
舄xì寫xiě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 寫 combines 宀 with 舄 for the sound; this note is about 寫, not the simplified 写.

Open 写 →

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 紙; 纸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
氏
氏shì紙zhǐ
Same sound today

For 纸, the traditional form 紙 combines 糸 (silk) with 氏 (the sound part).

Open 纸 →

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