棺材 (guān cai) — coffin | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

coffin

Measure word · 具, 口

Examples

棺材。
Tā jiā gěi lǎo rén mǎi le yí jù guān cai.
His family bought a coffin for the elderly man.
棺材。
Nà kǒu guān cai shì yòng zuì hǎo de mù tou zuò de.
That coffin is made of the finest wood.
棺材。
guān cai Bèi tái shàng le líng chē.
The coffin was lifted onto the hearse.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

棺 and 材 both denote the burial box; together they name a coffin.

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.

木官棺

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

官

官guān棺guān

Same sound today

The 木 part marks a coffin as a wooden object, and 官 provides the sound.

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

木才材

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

才

才cái材cái

Same sound today

材 combines 木, wood, with 才, cái, as its sound part.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Miscellaneous Objects 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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