磨床 (mó chuáng) — grinding machine

Definition

noun
grinding machine
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 磨床
    Zhè tái mó chuáng kě yǐ jiā gōng jīng mì líng jiàn.
    This grinding machine can process precision parts.
  • 磨床
    Gōng rén zhèng zài cāo zuò mó chuáng.
    The worker is operating the grinding machine.
  • 磨床
    Gōng chǎng xīn mǎi le yì tái mó chuáng.
    The factory bought a new grinding machine.

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.

grind
chuángmachine

'磨' means to grind and '床' denotes a machine, so the word means a grinding machine.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
shírock
Sound part声符shēngfú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

磨 combines 石, showing rock, with 靡 for the sound.

Open 磨 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The 床 shape combines 广, a house, and 木, tree, to show a wooden bed inside a house.

Open 床 →

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