耳光 (ěr guāng) — a slap on the face

Definition

noun
a slap on the face
Measure word · 记

Examples

  • 耳光。
    Tā bèi dǎ le yí jì ěr guāng.
    He was slapped once.
  • 耳光。
    Tā qì dé gěi le duì fāng yí jì ěr guāng.
    She got so angry that she slapped the other person.
  • 耳光。
    Zhè yí jì ěr guāng dǎ xǐng le tā.
    This slap woke him up.

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.

耳 means ear, 光 means slap, so 耳光 is a slap on the ear or face.

Characters in this word

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

耳 is drawn as a picture of an ear.

Open 耳 →

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

  • 火火huǒfire
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

Open 光 →

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