梯形 (tī xíng) — trapezoid (a quadrilateral with one pair of par… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

trapezoid (a quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides)ladder shape

Measure word · 个

Examples

，梯形。
Shù xué kè shàng, lǎo shī huà le yí gè tī xíng.
In math class, the teacher drew a trapezoid.
梯形。
Zhè zuò jiàn zhù de chuāng hu shì tī xíng de.
The windows of this building are trapezoid-shaped.
梯形，、。
Yào jì suàn tī xíng de miàn jī, bì xū zhī dào shàng dǐ, xià dǐ hé gāo.
To calculate the area of a trapezoid, you must know the top base, bottom base, and height.

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.

梯tīladder

梯 refers to a ladder and 形 to a shape, giving a ladder-like shape.

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.

木弟梯

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùwood, tree

Sound part声符shēngfú

弟

弟dì梯tī

Same sound today

梯 puts 木 (wood/tree) beside 弟, which gives the sound, to write a wooden ladder.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

彡彡shān

Sound part声符shēngfú

井

井jǐng形xíng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

形 is made from 彡 and 井, with 井 providing the sound.

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