教鞭 (jiào biān) — (teacher's) pointer, stick used for pointing at…

Definition

Literally 'teaching whip': a pointer stick for the blackboard, or metaphorically the teaching profession itself.

noun

(teacher's) pointer, stick used for pointing at a blackboardteaching career (metaphorical)

Measure word · 根

教鞭。
Lǎo shī yòng jiào biān zài hēi bǎn shàng zhǐ chū zhòng yào de zì.
The teacher used a pointer to indicate important characters on the blackboard.
，教鞭。
Tā zhàn shàng jiǎng tái, kāi shǐ le èr shí nián de jiào biān shēng yá.
He stepped onto the podium and began a twenty-year teaching career.
教鞭，。
Fù qīn xuǎn zé le jiào biān zhè yì háng, cóng wèi hòu huǐ guò.
Father chose the teaching profession and never regretted it.

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.

教 points to teaching and 鞭 to a stick, so 教鞭 is a teaching stick used as a pointer.

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

子子zǐchild

攵Written in full as攴pūteaching cane; stick that represents authority

Sound part声符shēngfú

爻

爻yáo教jiào

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

教 uses 爻 for its sound and puts 子 (child) with 攵 (攴), a teaching cane, to show teaching a child.

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

革便鞭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

革革géleather

Sound part声符shēngfú

便

Same sound today

鞭 pairs 革, meaning leather, with 便, which gives the sound.