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方块 (fāng kuài) — square (shape); block, cube (a solid square shape); diamond (card suit)

Definition

noun
square (shape)blockcube (a solid square shape)diamond (card suit)
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 方块。
    Tā yòng chǐ zi huà le yí gè biāo zhǔn de fāng kuài.
    She drew a standard square with a ruler.
  • 方块。
    Bǎ bīng kuài qiē chéng xiǎo fāng kuài.
    Cut the ice into small cubes.
  • 方块。
    Zhè fù pū kè pái de fāng kuài shì hóng sè de.
    The diamonds in this deck of cards are red.

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.

方fāngsquare
块kuàiblock/piece

方 'square' describes the shape of 块 'block/piece', giving a square block.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 方 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 塊; 块 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth; dust
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬼
鬼guǐ塊kuài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 塊 pairs 土 (earth; dust) with 鬼 as a sound part to show a clod of dirt. The simplified 块 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 块 →
Appears in
Shapes

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