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收发室 (shōu fā shì) — mail room; mailroom (in an office, school, or building)

Definition

noun
mail roommailroom (in an office, school, or building)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 收发室。
    Qǐng bǎ kuài dì sòng dào shōu fā shì.
    Please deliver the courier to the mail room.
  • 收发室，。
    Tā zài shōu fā shì gōng zuò, měi tiān chǔ lǐ hěn duō xìn jiàn hé bāo guǒ.
    He works in the mail room, handling many letters and packages every day.
  • 收发室，。
    Xiǎo wáng de shōu fā shì zài yī lóu, páng biān jiù shì diàn tī.
    Xiao Wang's mail room is on the first floor, next to the elevator.

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.

收发receiving and sending
收shōureceive发fāsend
联合Coordinate
室shìroom

收 and 发 mean receiving and sending, and 室 is the room.

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū收shōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

收 uses 攴 to show an action and 丩 as a sound clue; the old meaning was 'to arrest.'

Open 收 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
至
至zhì室shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

室 puts 宀 (roof) over 至, the spot where someone stops, giving the meaning of a house or residence.

Open 室 →
Appears in
Mail & MessagingRooms & Spaces

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