条码 (tiáo mǎ) — bar code; barcode

Definition

noun
bar codebarcode
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 条码。
    Qǐng sǎo miáo zhè ge tiáo mǎ.
    Please scan this barcode.
  • 条码。
    Měi gè chǎn pǐn dōu yǒu yí gè wéi yī de tiáo mǎ.
    Every product has a unique barcode.
  • 条码。
    Yòng shǒu jī sǎo yí xià tiáo mǎ jiù néng kàn dào jià gé.
    Scan the barcode with your phone and you can see the price.

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.

条tiáostrip
码mǎcode

The 条 'strip' part describes the pattern of the 码 'code'.

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.

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 →

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 碼; 码 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shístone; rock
Sound part声符shēngfú
馬
馬mǎ碼mǎ
Same sound today

The traditional form 碼 pairs 石 (stone) with 馬 for its sound; the simplified 码 is a later shorthand.

Open 码 →

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