梳妆台 (shū zhuāng tái) — dressing table; vanity table

Definition

noun
dressing tablevanity table
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 梳妆台
    Tā de shū zhuāng tái shàng bǎi mǎn le huà zhuāng pǐn.
    Her dressing table is covered with makeup.
  • 梳妆台
    Wǒ mǎi le yí gè xīn de shū zhuāng tái fàng zài wò shì lǐ.
    I bought a new dressing table and put it in the bedroom.
  • 梳妆台
    Zhè shū zhuāng tái shū zhuāng tái de jìng zi hěn dà, huà zhuāng hěn fāng biàn.
    The mirror on this dressing table is very large, making makeup application very convenient.

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.

梳妆grooming hair and makeup
shūcomb hairzhuāngmakeup
联合Coordinate
táitable

梳妆 refers to grooming hair and makeup, and 台 is a table, so the term names a table for grooming.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Sound part声符shēngfú
shūshū
Same sound today

The shape pairs 木 (wood) with 疏, which gives the sound.

Open 梳 →

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 妝; 妆 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
female
Sound part声符shēngfú
pánzhuāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 妝 combines 女, meaning female, with 爿 as a sound part; this describes 妝, not the simplified 妆.

Open 妆 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臺; 台 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 台 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (窗台, 电视台) it is 臺; in others (台灯, 台球) (台风) it is 檯 or 台 or 颱.

The traditional form 臺 is the 喬 + 室 form; earlier versions combined a sound part with 室, and an old reading saw it as a watch tower.

Open 台 →
Appears in

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