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灯泡 (dēng pào) — light bulb; (slang) third wheel, unwanted third party on a third person on a date

Definition

Literally 'light bulb'; in slang, it also means a 'third wheel' on a couple's date — the unwanted extra person. The literal sense is far more common in everyday use.

noun
light bulb(slang) third wheel, unwanted third party on a third person on a date
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 灯泡。
    Zhè jiān wū zi xū yào yí gè gèng liàng de dēng pào.
    This room needs a brighter light bulb.
  • ，灯泡。
    Tā men yì qǐ qù kàn diàn yǐng, wǒ kě bù xiǎng dāng dēng pào.
    They're going to the movies together — I really don't want to be a third wheel.
  • 灯泡LED。
    Bǎ nà ge jiù dēng pào huàn chéng LED de ba.
    Replace that old light bulb with an LED one.

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.

灯dēnglamp
泡pàobulb

"灯" (lamp) and "泡" (bulb) combine to name the bulb of a lamp.

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
火火huǒ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng灯dēng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

灯 pairs 火, which shows fire, with 丁, which gives the sound.

Open 灯 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
包
包bāo泡pào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

泡 combines 氵 (water) and 包, which supplies the sound. It conveys foam.

Open 泡 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Miscellaneous Objects

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