桥面 (qiáo miàn) — bridge deck; bridge floor

Definition

The surface of a bridge that vehicles and pedestrians travel on — the 'road' part of a bridge, not its supporting structure.

noun

bridge deckbridge floor

Measure word · 块

桥面，。
Zhè zuò qiáo de qiáo miàn hěn kuān, kě yǐ tóng shí zǒu sì liàng chē.
The deck of this bridge is very wide and can accommodate four cars at the same time.
桥面。
Gōng rén men zhèng zài xiū lǐ qiáo miàn shàng de liè fèng.
Workers are repairing the cracks on the bridge deck.
桥面，。
Dōng tiān qiáo miàn shàng huì jié bīng, kāi chē yào xiǎo xīn.
In winter, the bridge deck can ice over, so drive carefully.

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.

桥 names the structure and 面 its surface, together referring to the deck or floor of a bridge.

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 橋; 桥 is its simplified writing.

木喬橋

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùwood

Sound part声符shēngfú

喬

喬qiáo橋qiáo

Same sound today

The traditional form 橋 pairs 木 (wood) with 喬 (qiáo), which gave the character its sound; the simplified 桥 is a later abbreviation.

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

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.