木条 (mù tiáo) — wood strip, wooden slat

Definition

noun
wood stripwooden slat
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 木条。
    Tā yòng mù tiáo zuò le yí gè shū jià.
    He made a bookshelf using wooden slats.
  • 木条。
    Zhè xiē mù tiáo kě yǐ yòng lái xiū lǐ chuāng hu.
    These wood strips can be used to repair the window.
  • 木条。
    Dì shàng fàng zhe jǐ gēn mù tiáo.
    There are a few wooden slats lying on the ground.

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.

木mùwood
条tiáostrip

木 gives the material wood, and 条 gives the thin strip shape.

Characters in this word

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

木 is drawn as a tree, with branches above and roots below.

Open 木 →

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 條; 条 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu條tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 條 pairs 木, a small branch or stick, with 攸, which shows a person warned by a hand holding a stick, as a sound part; 条 is a later shortened shape.

Open 条 →

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