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砖墙 (zhuān qiáng) — brick wall

Definition

noun
brick wall
Measure word · 面

Examples

  • 砖墙。
    Zhè miàn zhuān qiáng hěn jiān gù.
    This brick wall is very sturdy.
  • 砖墙。
    Tā men zhèng zài yòng hóng zhuān qì zhuān qiáng.
    They are building a brick wall with red bricks.
  • 砖墙。
    Lǎo fáng zi de zhuān qiáng shàng pá mǎn le téng wàn.
    The brick wall of the old house is covered with vines.

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
墙qiángwall

砖 specifies the material of 墙, giving a wall made of brick.

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 牆; 墙 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
嗇嗇sèwheat in a granary
Sound part声符shēngfú
爿
爿pán牆qiáng
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 牆, 爿 gives the sound and 嗇, showing wheat in a granary, gives the wall meaning. The simplified 墙 is a later short form.

Open 墙 →
Appears in
Buildings & Structures

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