皮艇 (pí tǐng) — kayak (a small, narrow boat propelled by a double-bladed paddle)

Definition

noun
kayak (a small, narrow boat propelled by a double-bladed paddle)
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 皮艇
    Zhōu mò wǒ men yì qǐ qù hú shàng huà pí tǐng ba.
    Let's go kayaking on the lake this weekend.
  • 皮艇
    Tā huā le yí gè yuè de shí jiān zì jǐ zuò le yì sōu pí tǐng.
    He spent a month building a kayak by himself.
  • 皮艇
    Zhè tiáo pí tǐng hěn qīng, yí gè rén jiù néng bān dòng.
    This kayak is very light, one person can move it.

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.

皮 names skin and 艇 names a boat, so it is a boat made like or from skin.

Characters in this word

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

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

Open 皮 →

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
zhōuboat
Sound part声符shēngfú
tíngtǐng
Same sound today

艇 pairs 舟, meaning boat, with 廷, which gives the sound.

Open 艇 →

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