方巾 (fāng jīn) — (historical) square hood worn by Ming scholars; (modern) square cloth, handkerchief, or towel

Definition

A square cloth used in two senses: a modern handkerchief or small towel, and the square hood historically worn by Ming-dynasty scholars.

noun
(historical) square hood worn by Ming scholars(modern) square clothhandkerchiefor towel
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 方巾。
    Zhè wèi míng dài xué zhě tóu shàng dài le yì dǐng fāng jīn.
    This Ming dynasty scholar wore a square hood on his head.
  • 方巾。
    Tā ná chū yí kuài fāng jīn cā le cā hàn.
    She took out a square cloth and wiped her sweat.
  • 方巾。
    Zhè kuài fāng jīn de zhì dì hěn róu ruǎn.
    This square cloth is very soft in texture.

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
巾jīncloth

方 means square and 巾 means a cloth or scarf, so 方巾 is a square cloth or head covering.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 方 →

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

The form 巾 is a picture of a piece of cloth hanging down.

Open 巾 →

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