电话簿 (diàn huà bù) — telephone directory; phone book

Definition

noun
telephone directoryphone book
Measure word · 本

Examples

  • 电话簿。
    Wǒ zài diàn huà bù lǐ zhǎo dào le nà jiā gōng sī de diàn huà hào mǎ.
    I found the phone number of that company in the phone book.
  • 电话簿，。
    Xiàn zài hěn shǎo yǒu rén yòng diàn huà bù le, dà jiā dōu yòng shǒu jī cún hào mǎ.
    Few people use phone books now; everyone saves numbers on their phones.
  • 电话簿。
    Tā fān biàn le yì zhěng běn diàn huà bù yě méi zhǎo dào nà ge diàn huà.
    He searched through an entire phone book and still didn't find that number.

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.

电话telephone
电diànelectric话huàspeech
偏正Modifier + head
簿bóbook

电话 denotes telephone and 簿 denotes book, together meaning a directory.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 電; 电 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn電diàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 電, 雨 (rain) sits with 申, read shēn and meaning lightning.

Open 电 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →

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
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
溥
溥pǔ簿bù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

簿 used for book, pairs 竹 (bamboo) with 溥; 竹 is the meaning part and 溥 gives the sound.

Open 簿 →
Appears in
Phones & Telecom

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