瓶塞 (píng sāi) — bottle cork; bottle stopper

Definition

noun

bottle corkbottle stopper

Measure word · 个

瓶塞。
Zhè ge píng sāi shì ruǎn mù zuò de.
This bottle stopper is made of cork.
瓶塞，。
Qǐng bǎ píng sāi sāi jǐn, bù rán jiǔ huì lòu chū lái.
Please tighten the bottle stopper, otherwise the wine will leak out.
瓶塞。
Wǒ mǎi le yí gè piào liang de píng sāi dāng lǐ wù.
I bought a beautiful bottle stopper as a gift.

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.

瓶 bottle and 塞 stopper mean the stopper used for a bottle.

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.

并瓦瓶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

瓦瓦wǎearthenware

Sound part声符shēngfú

并

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

瓶 uses 瓦 to show an earthenware vessel and 并 for the sound. The original vessel had a long slender neck and narrow mouth.

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

塞 combines 宀 (house), 工 (two items), and 廾 (two hands), showing hands stuffing items into a house.