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括号 (kuò hào) — parentheses; brackets (general term for enclosing punctuation)

Definition

General term for any enclosing punctuation: parentheses (圆括号), square brackets [方括号], angle brackets ⟨⟩, etc. Not used for the number list marker 序号 or the 顿号 (、).

noun
parenthesesbrackets (general term for enclosing punctuation)
Measure word · 对

Examples

  • ，括号。
    Xiě yóu jiàn shí, qǐng zài kuò hào lǐ zhù míng rì qī.
    When writing an email, please note the date in parentheses.
  • 括号。
    Zhè piān lùn wén de kuò hào shǐ yòng bú tài guī fàn.
    The use of brackets in this paper is not very standard.
  • 括号。
    Qǐng bǎ diàn huà hào mǎ xiě zài kuò hào lǐ.
    Please write the phone number in parentheses.

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.

括kuòenclose
号hàomark

括 means to enclose and 号 means a mark, so these marks enclose text.

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

括 combines 手, a hand, with 𠯑, which gives the sound.

Open 括 →

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

  • 口口kǒumouth
  • 丂丂kǎoexhaled air; a tiger's cry

The shape 号 comes from 口, a mouth, and 丂, exhaled air or a tiger's cry.

Open 号 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Reading & Writing

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