条纹 (tiáo wén) — stripe; streak

Definition

noun
stripestreak
Measure word · 条
Easily confused

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 →
Appears in
Shapes

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