拍卖场 (pāi mài cháng) — auction house, auction venue

Definition

noun
auction houseauction venue
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 拍卖场。
    Zhè jiā pāi mài cháng shì quán shì zuì dà de.
    This auction house is the biggest in the city.
  • 拍卖场。
    Tā zài pāi mài cháng shàng mǎi dào le yì fú míng huà.
    He bought a famous painting at the auction.
  • 拍卖场。
    Míng tiān de pāi mài cháng huì yǒu hěn duō gǔ dǒng chū shòu.
    Tomorrow's auction will have many antiques for sale.

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.

拍卖auction
拍pāistrike卖màisell
偏正Modifier + head
场chǎngvenue

拍 suggests striking and 卖 suggests selling; 场 marks the place, giving an auction venue.

Characters in this word

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái拍pāi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拍 puts 手 (hand) beside 白, which gives the pronunciation.

Open 拍 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賣; 卖 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 賣 came from an older shape that joined 出 (go out) with 買 (buy), which gives the sound. The simplified 卖 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 卖 →

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 場; 场 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng場chǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 場 pairs 土 (earth) with 昜 as a sound part; the simplified 场 is a later abbreviation, so its parts do not have that historical role.

Open 场 →

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