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酒楼 (jiǔ lóu) — traditional Chinese restaurant (often multi-story, serving full meals and banquets)

Definition

酒楼 is a traditional, often multi-story Chinese restaurant, typically used for full meals and banquets — more formal and traditional than the everyday 饭馆 or 餐厅.

noun
traditional Chinese restaurant (often multi-story, serving full meals and banquets)
Measure word · 家

Examples

  • 酒楼。
    Zhè jiā jiǔ lóu de cài hěn hǎo chī.
    The dishes at this restaurant are very tasty.
  • 酒楼。
    Wǒ men zài zhè jiā jiǔ lóu dìng le yí gè bāo jiān.
    We booked a private room at this restaurant.
  • 酒楼。
    Zhè jiā jiǔ lóu de zhuāng xiū hěn yǒu zhōng guó fēng gé.
    The decoration of this restaurant has a very Chinese style.

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jiǔwine
楼lóubuilding

酒 means wine and 楼 means building, naming a traditional restaurant.

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
水水shuǐ
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.

Open 酒 →

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 樓; 楼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
婁
婁lóu樓lóu
Same sound today

The traditional form 樓 pairs 木 (tree) with 婁 as its sound part; the simplified 楼 is a later shorthand.

Open 楼 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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