白兰地酒 (bái lán dì jiǔ) — brandy

Definition

noun
brandy
Measure word · 杯

Examples

  • 白兰地酒。
    Tā xǐ huan hē bái lán dì jiǔ.
    He likes to drink brandy.
  • 白兰地酒。
    Zhè píng bái lán dì jiǔ shì fǎ guó chǎn de.
    This bottle of brandy is made in France.
  • 白兰地酒。
    bái lán dì jiǔ De jià gé bú pián yi.
    Brandy is not cheap.

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.

白兰地brandy
白bái兰lán地dì
酒jiǔliquor

白兰地 spells brandy, and 酒 marks it as a liquor.

Characters in this word

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →

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 蘭; 兰 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎoplant
Sound part声符shēngfú
闌
闌lán蘭lán
Same sound today

In the traditional form 蘭, 艹 marks it as a plant and 闌 stands for the sound; the simplified 兰 is a later shorthand, not the original parts.

Open 兰 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu酒jiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Open 酒 →

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