水管 (shuǐ guǎn) — water pipe

Definition

noun
water pipe
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 水管
    Zhè gēn shuǐ guǎn yǐ jīng lǎo huà le, xū yào gēng huàn.
    This water pipe has aged and needs to be replaced.
  • 水管
    Chú fáng de shuǐ guǎn tū rán bào liè le, nòng dé mǎn dì shì shuǐ.
    The water pipe in the kitchen suddenly burst, flooding the floor.
  • 水管
    Gōng rén men zhèng zài pū shè xīn de shuǐ guǎn xì tǒng.
    The workers are laying a new water pipe system.

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.

水管 joins 水 water and 管 pipe to mean a pipe for water.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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
zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
guānguǎn
Same sound today

管 has 竹 (bamboo) on top to show it relates to bamboo, and 官 gives its sound.

Open 管 →
Appears in

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.