套鞋 (tào xié) — overshoes; galoshes; rubbers

Definition

noun

overshoesgaloshesrubbers

Measure word · 双

套鞋。
Xià yǔ tiān chū mén bié wàng le chuān tào xié.
Don't forget to wear overshoes when going out on rainy days.
套鞋，。
Zhè shuāng tào xié shì xiàng jiāo zuò de, fáng shuǐ hěn hǎo.
These galoshes are made of rubber and are very waterproof.
，套鞋。
Dōng tiān xuě dà, chuān tào xié zǒu lù bù róng yì huá dǎo.
When it snows heavily in winter, wearing snow-boots makes it less easy to slip while walking.

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.

套tàoslip over

A 鞋, shoe, that 套 slips over another.

Characters in this word

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

套 is made from 大 (large) and 長 (long), originally for something long, with some reference to hair; it later came to mean a cover or a linked group.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

革圭鞋

Meaning part形符xíngfú

革革géleather

Sound part声符shēngfú

圭

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

鞋 puts 革 (leather) beside 圭 to show leather shoes; 圭 gives the sound and originally drew a pair of ritual axes, not earth.