撬棍 (qiào gùn) — crowbar; pry bar | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

crowbarpry bar

Measure word · 把

Examples

撬棍。
Tā yòng qiào gùn bǎ xiāng zi qiào kāi le.
He used a crowbar to pry open the box.
撬棍。
Gōng dì shàng yǒu hěn duō qiào gùn.
There are many crowbars at the construction site.
撬棍。
Zhè gēn qiào gùn hěn jiē shi.
This crowbar is very sturdy.

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.

撬 means pry and 棍 means rod, so the word means a rod used for prying.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木昆棍

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

昆

昆kūn棍gùn(r)

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

棍 has 木 (tree) beside 昆, which gives its sound.

Appears in

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