尿布 (niào bù) — diaper | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

diaper

Measure word · 块

Examples

尿布。
Mā ma zài shāng diàn lǐ mǎi le jǐ tiáo xīn de niào bù.
Mom bought several new diapers at the store.
尿布。
Gěi bǎo bao huàn niào bù de shí hou yào xiǎo xīn.
Be careful when changing the baby's diaper.
尿布，。
Zhè zhǒng niào bù xī shuǐ xìng hěn hǎo, bǎo bao yòng dé hěn shū fu.
This type of diaper has good absorbency; the baby feels comfortable wearing 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.

尿 is urine and 布 is cloth, so it denotes cloth used for urine.

Characters in this word

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

尾尾wěitail
水水shuǐwater

Originally it drew a person urinating. The old form used 尾 (tail) and 水 (water); 尾 later simplified to 尸 (body), so 尿 now shows 尸 and 水.

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

巾巾jīnkerchief

Sound part声符shēngfú

父

父fù布bù

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

布 pairs 巾, a kerchief, with 父 as a sound part.

Appears in

Hygiene & Grooming

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.