奴隶主 (nú lì zhǔ) — slave owner | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

slave owner

Measure word · 个

奴隶主。
Gǔ dài nú lì zhǔ yōng yǒu hěn duō nú lì.
In ancient times, slave owners owned many slaves.
奴隶主。
Zhè wèi nú lì zhǔ duì dài nú lì hěn cán rěn.
This slave owner treated his slaves very cruelly.
奴隶主。
Xǔ duō nú lì zhǔ kào bō xuē nú lì shēng huó.
Many slave owners lived by exploiting slaves.

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.

奴隶slave

奴núslave隶lìservant

联合Coordinate

奴隶 names a slave, and 主 names an owner, together meaning a slave owner.

Characters in this word

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

女又奴

奴 shows 又 (a hand) and 女 (a woman): a hand capturing and ordering a woman around.

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 隸; 隶 is its simplified writing.

柰隶隸

Meaning part形符xíngfú

隶隶lìarrest

Sound part声符shēngfú

柰

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

The traditional form 隸 pairs 柰 for sound with 隶 for arrest; the simplified 隶 is a shorthand.

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

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