被套 (bèi tào) — quilt cover; duvet cover

Definition

noun
quilt coverduvet cover
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 被套
    Zhè ge bèi tào shì chún mián de, hěn shū fu.
    This quilt cover is pure cotton and very comfortable.
  • 被套
    Wǒ mǎi le yí gè xīn bèi tào, yán sè hěn hǎo kàn.
    I bought a new duvet cover; the color is very nice.
  • 被套
    Bǎ bèi tào tào zài bèi zi wài miàn jiù xíng le.
    Just put the quilt cover over the quilt.

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.

bèiquilt
tàocover

A 套 cover is made for a 被 quilt, giving the quilt cover.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
clothing
Sound part声符shēngfú
bèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

被 pairs 衣 (clothing) with 皮, which gives the sound.

Open 被 →

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

  • large
  • chánglong

套 is made from 大 (large) and 長 (long), originally for something long, with some reference to hair; it later came to mean a cover or a linked group.

Open 套 →
Appears in

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