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薯条 (shǔ tiáo) — french fries

Definition

noun
french fries
Measure word · 份

Examples

  • 薯条。
    Wǒ diǎn le yí fèn shǔ tiáo hé yì bēi kě lè.
    I ordered a serving of french fries and a Coke.
  • 薯条。
    Zhè jiā diàn de shǔ tiáo zhà dé tè bié cuì.
    The french fries at this place are especially crispy.
  • 薯条。
    Hái zi men dōu xǐ huan chī shǔ tiáo.
    Children all like to eat french fries.

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.

薯shǔpotato
条tiáostrip

薯 names potato or tuber and 条 names strips, so the word means potato strips.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 薯 →

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 條; 条 is its simplified writing.

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

The traditional form 條 pairs 木, a small branch or stick, with 攸, which shows a person warned by a hand holding a stick, as a sound part; 条 is a later shortened shape.

Open 条 →
Appears in
Food (General)

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