橡皮圈 (xiàng pí juān) — rubber life belt (flotation device); rubber band (elastic loop)

Definition

This word has two very different senses: a 'rubber band' (elastic loop, like 皮筋/松紧带) and a 'rubber life belt' for swimming. Context decides which one is meant.

noun
rubber life belt (flotation device)rubber band (elastic loop)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 橡皮圈。
    Tā yóu yǒng shí dài le yí gè xiàng pí juān.
    She brought a rubber life belt when swimming.
  • 橡皮圈。
    Wǒ yòng xiàng pí juān bǎ bào zhǐ kǔn le qǐ lái.
    I used a rubber band to tie up the newspapers.
  • 橡皮圈，。
    Zhè zhǒng xiàng pí juān tán lì hěn hǎo, bù róng yì duàn.
    This kind of rubber band has good elasticity and doesn't break easily.

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.

橡皮rubber
橡xiàngrubber tree皮pískin
偏正Modifier + head
圈quānloop

橡皮 denotes rubber and 圈 denotes a loop, together a rubber loop.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 橡 →

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

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

Open 皮 →

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
囗囗wéi
Sound part声符shēngfú
卷
卷juàn圈quān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

圈 is made of the outer 囗, an enclosure shape, and the inner 卷, which gives the sound.

Open 圈 →

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