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砖块 (zhuān kuài) — brick (as a block or material)

Definition

noun
brick (as a block or material)
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 砖块。
    Gōng rén men yòng zhuān kuài qì qiáng.
    Workers use bricks to build walls.
  • 砖块。
    Zhè miàn qiáng shì yòng hóng sè zhuān kuài qì chéng de.
    This wall is built with red bricks.
  • 砖块。
    Dì shàng sàn luò zhe jǐ kuài zhuān kuài.
    A few bricks are scattered on the ground.

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.

砖zhuānbrick
块kuàiblock

砖块 pairs 砖, brick, with 块, block, to refer to a brick as a solid piece.

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 磚; 砖 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shírock
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān磚zhuān
Same sound today

The traditional form 磚 uses 石 (rock) for the meaning and 專 for the sound; the simplified 砖 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the original part.

Open 砖 →

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 塊; 块 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth; dust
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬼
鬼guǐ塊kuài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 塊 pairs 土 (earth; dust) with 鬼 as a sound part to show a clod of dirt. The simplified 块 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 块 →
Appears in
Materials & Substances

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