橡皮擦 (xiàng pí cā) — eraser | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

eraser

Measure word · 块

橡皮擦。
Wǒ yòng xiàng pí cā gǎi cuò zì.
I use an eraser to correct wrong characters.
橡皮擦。
Měi gè xué shēng dōu gāi yǒu yí kuài xiàng pí cā.
Every student should have an eraser.
橡皮擦。
xiàng pí cā Cā bù liǎo gāng bǐ de zì.
An eraser can't erase pen ink.

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

偏正Modifier + head

橡皮 names rubber, and 擦 is the wiping action the object performs.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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.

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

扌察擦

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

察

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

The left part 扌 is the hand, showing that 擦 is an action done with the hand, such as wiping or scrubbing; the right part 察 gives the sound.