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笼子 (lóng zi) — cage; basket (woven container)

Definition

笼子 is a cage or basket — a physical container, usually for holding animals or carrying goods. 筐 is a lighter woven basket for produce, not for confinement.

noun
cagebasket (woven container)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 笼子。
    Lǎo hǔ zài lóng zi lǐ zǒu lái zǒu qù.
    The tiger is pacing back and forth in the cage.
  • 笼子。
    Tā yòng zhú lóng zi zhuāng le hěn duō píng guǒ.
    He used a bamboo basket to hold a lot of apples.
  • 笼子。
    Zhè ge lóng zi shì yòng sù liào zuò de.
    This cage is made of plastic.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

笼lóngcage
子zǐsuffix

笼 gives the cage idea, and 子 completes the everyday word for a container.

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 籠; 笼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
𥫗Written in full as竹zhú
Sound part声符shēngfú
龍
龍lóng籠lóng
Same sound today

The traditional form 籠 is built from 竹 (bamboo) and 龍, which gives the sound. The simplified 笼 is a later shorthand.

Open 笼 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Miscellaneous Objects

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