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篮子 (lán zi) — (noun) basket (woven container); (classifier) basket (of something)

Definition

A concrete woven container, usually hand-held. As a classifier, 只 counts baskets as discrete objects — a 量词 shortcut for grouping items like fruit into 'a basket of' (一篮子苹果).

noun
basket (woven container)
classifier
basket (of something)
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 篮子。
    Wǒ tí zhe yí gè lán zi qù mǎi cài.
    I carried a basket to buy groceries.
  • 篮子。
    Tā mǎi le yì lán zi píng guǒ.
    She bought a basket of apples.
  • 篮子。
    Zhè ge lán zi shì yòng zhú zi biān de.
    This basket is woven from bamboo.

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.

篮lánbasket
子zǐword ending

篮 carries the basket meaning, and 子 completes the everyday word for the 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 籃; 篮 is its simplified writing.

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

The traditional form 籃 puts 竹 (bamboo) over 監, which gives the sound; the simplified 篮 is a later shorthand.

Open 篮 →

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
Miscellaneous Objects

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