特大号 (tè dà hào) — king-size, extra-large size (especially for clo…

Definition

noun

king-sizeextra-large size (especially for clothing, bedding, or product sizes)

特大号，。
Zhè jiàn yī fu shì tè dà hào de, wǒ chuān zhuó tài dà le.
This piece of clothing is king-size; it's too big for me.
特大号。
Tā men dìng le yì bāo tè dà hào de shǔ piàn.
They ordered a bag of extra-large chips.
特大号。
Jiǔ diàn de fáng jiān yǒu tè dà hào de chuáng.
The hotel room has a king-size bed.

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.

特大extra large

偏正Modifier + head

特 means extra, 大 means large, and 号 is a size; 特大号 is extra-large.

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.

牛寺特

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

寺

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape combines 牛 (ox) with 寺, which gives the pronunciation; it originally meant a large bull.

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

口丂号

The shape 号 comes from 口, a mouth, and 丂, exhaled air or a tiger's cry.

Appears in