酒吧 (jiǔ bā) — bar, pub | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A bar or pub — a place to drink. 酒店 is 'hotel' (or regional 'restaurant'), not a drinking venue. 酒 is just the drink itself.

noun

barpub

Measure word · 家

Examples

酒吧。
Wǒ men wǎn shàng qù jiǔ bā hē yì bēi ba.
Let's go to the bar for a drink tonight.
酒吧。
Zhè jiǔ bā de jī wěi jiǔ zuò dé hěn hǎo.
This bar makes very good cocktails.
酒吧，。
Nà jiǔ bā lí wǒ jiā hěn jìn, zǒu lù wǔ fēn zhōng jiù dào.
That bar is very close to my home, just a five-minute walk.

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.

酒jiǔalcohol

酒 marks the drink served, and 吧 names the bar-like place.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

酉

酉yǒu酒jiǔ

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Alcohol & Tobacco Dining & Restaurants 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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