通知单 (tōng zhī dān) — notification (form or slip)

Definition

通知单 is the physical slip or form that carries a 通知 — the paper notice itself, not the act of notifying. Counted with 张.

noun
notification (form or slip)
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 通知单。
    Qǐng tián xiě zhè zhāng tōng zhī dān.
    Please fill out this notification form.
  • 通知单。
    Xué xiào fā le yì zhāng jiā zhǎng tōng zhī dān.
    The school sent out a parent notification slip.
  • 通知单。
    Wǒ bǎ tōng zhī dān tiē zài gōng gào lán shàng le.
    I posted the notification on the bulletin board.

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.

通知notify
通tōngcommunicate知zhīmake known
联合Side by side
单dānslip

通 (communicate) and 知 (make known) give 通知, and 单 (slip) is the paper form.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
甬
甬yǒng通tōng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

通 pairs 辶, a part associated with movement, with 甬, which gives the sound.

Open 通 →

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

An early form of 知 showed 大 (adult), 口 (mouth), and 子 (child): an adult speaking to a child to pass on knowledge. The 子 part was dropped, and the 大 part changed shape.

Open 知 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

Open 单 →

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