(lǎn) — cable, hawser (thick rope used for tying ships or in cable cars)

Definition

noun
cablehawser (thick rope used for tying ships or in cable cars)
Measure word ·

Examples

  • Zhè gēn lǎn hěn jiē shi, kě yǐ chéng shòu hěn dà de zhòng liàng.
    This cable is very strong and can bear a lot of weight.
  • Wǒ men chéng zuò lǎn chē shàng le shān dǐng.
    We took the cable car to the mountaintop.
  • Hǎi biān yǒu yì tiáo cū lǎn, yòng lái xì chuán.
    There is a thick cable by the seaside used to tie up boats.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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 纜; 缆 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Written in full assilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
lǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 纜 has 糹 (silk) beside 覽, which gives the sound; the simplified 缆 is a later shorthand.

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