挽具 (wǎn jù) — harness | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

harness

Measure word · 副

Easily confused

挽具。
Zhè pǐ mǎ pèi shàng le xīn wǎn jù.
This horse has been fitted with a new harness.
挽具。
Tā zài diàn lǐ mǎi le yí tào wǎn jù.
He bought a set of harnesses at the store.
挽具。
Qǐng jiǎn chá yí xià wǎn jù shì fǒu láo gù.
Please check whether the harness is secure.

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.

A harness is a tool for pulling, combining 挽 and 具.

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.

扌免挽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

免

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

In 挽, the left part 扌 is a hand symbol, showing an action done with the hand. The right part 免 supplies the sound.

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

具 pairs 廾 (two hands) with 鼎 (a cauldron), showing hands working with a cauldron to prepare food.