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手帕 (shǒu pà) — handkerchief

Definition

A handkerchief is a small cloth for wiping or carrying, not disposable like 纸巾 (paper tissue). Often embroidered or kept as a personal item.

noun
handkerchief
Measure word · 方

Examples

  • 手帕，。
    Tā diū le yì fāng shǒu pà, zhèng zài dào chù zhǎo.
    She lost a handkerchief and is looking everywhere for it.
  • 手帕。
    Mā ma de shǒu pà shàng xiù zhe yì duǒ xiǎo huā.
    There is a little flower embroidered on Mom's handkerchief.
  • 手帕。
    Qǐng bǎ nǐ de shǒu pà jiè gěi wǒ yòng yí xià.
    Please lend me your handkerchief for a moment.

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.

手shǒuhand
帕pàcloth

手 hand and 帕 cloth: cloth used for hands.

Characters in this word

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 帕 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Everyday Objects

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