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砖瓦 (zhuān wǎ) — bricks and tiles

Definition

noun
bricks and tiles

Examples

  • 砖瓦。
    Zhè xiē zhuān wǎ de zhì liàng hěn hǎo.
    The quality of these bricks and tiles is very good.
  • 砖瓦。
    Tā men yòng zhuān wǎ gài le yí zuò fáng zi.
    They built a house using bricks and tiles.
  • 砖瓦。
    Lǎo fáng zi shàng de zhuān wǎ yǐ jīng jiù le.
    The bricks and tiles on the old house are already worn.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

砖zhuānbrick
瓦wǎtile

砖 and 瓦 are bricks and tiles, listed together as building materials.

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 →

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

瓦’s shape is a picture of fired earthenware pottery or a tile.

Open 瓦 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6

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