轿子 (jiào zi) — sedan chair, palanquin

Definition

A 轿子 (jiào zi) is a sedan chair — an enclosed chair carried on poles by bearers, used in imperial and traditional China to transport people of status. It is measured with the classifier 顶.

noun
sedan chairpalanquin
Measure word · 顶
Easily confused

Examples

  • 轿子。
    Gǔ dài de fù rén chū mén cháng cháng zuò jiào zi.
    Rich people in ancient times often went out by sedan chair.
  • 轿子。
    Nà dǐng jiào zi zhuāng shì dé shí fēn huá lì.
    That sedan chair was decorated very ornately.
  • 轿子。
    Bó wù guǎn lǐ chén liè zhe yì dǐng gǔ sè gǔ xiāng de jiào zi.
    The museum displays an antique-style sedan chair.

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.

轿jiàosedan chair
子zǐsuffix

轿 names the sedan chair, and 子 is a common ending.

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 轎; 轿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jū
Sound part声符shēngfú
喬
喬qiáo轎jiào
Same sound today

The traditional form 轎 has 車, a vehicle, and 喬, which gives the sound; the simplified 轿 is a later shorthand.

Open 轿 →

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 →

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