子弹 (zǐ dàn) — bullet

Definition

noun
bullet
Measure word · 粒, 颗, 发

Examples

  • 子弹。
    Yì kē zǐ dàn jī zhòng le chuāng hu.
    A bullet hit the window.
  • 子弹。
    Qiāng lǐ hái yǒu wǔ fā zǐ dàn.
    There are still five bullets in the gun.
  • 。
    Tā jiǎn qǐ yí lì zǐ dàn kàn le kàn.
    He picked up a bullet and looked at it.

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.

子zǐsmall
弹tánprojectile

子弹 joins 子 with its sense of smallness to 弹 for a projectile, giving the idea of a small bullet.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 彈; 弹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
弓弓gōng
Sound part声符shēngfú
單
單dān彈tán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 彈 pairs 弓 (bow) with the sound part 單; the simplified 弹 is a shorthand.

Open 弹 →
Appears in
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