条纹 (tiáo wén) — stripe; streak | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

stripestreak

Measure word · 条

Examples

。
Tā chuān zhuó yí jiàn lán bái tiáo wén de chèn shān.
He is wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt.
条纹。
Lǎo hǔ shēn shàng de tiáo wén kě yǐ bāng zhù tā yǐn cáng.
A tiger's stripes help it hide.
条纹。
Zhè zhǒng cí zhuān de biǎo miàn yǒu xì cháng de tiáo wén.
The surface of this tile has long thin streaks.

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tiáostripe

纹wénpattern

条 stripe specifies the kind of 纹 pattern, giving stripes or streaks.

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 紋; 纹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìthread

Sound part声符shēngfú

文

文wén紋

Same sound today

The traditional form 紋 pairs 糸 (thread) with 文 as the sound part, giving the sense of a line of thread; this note is about 紋, not 纹.

Open 纹 →

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