铁栏杆 (tiě lán gān) — iron railing; steel fence

Definition

noun
iron railingsteel fence
Measure word · 道

Examples

  • 铁栏杆。
    Gōng yuán lǐ de tiě lán gān hěn jiù le.
    The iron railing in the park is very old.
  • 铁栏杆。
    Chuāng hu wài miàn yǒu yí dào tiě lán gān.
    There is an iron railing outside the window.
  • 铁栏杆。
    Qiáo biān de tiě lán gān shuā chéng le bái sè.
    The iron railing by the bridge was painted white.

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.

铁tiěiron
栏杆railing/bar
栏lánrailing杆gānbar
联合Side by side

铁 (iron) with 栏杆 (railing/bar) names an iron railing.

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 鐵; 铁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢧤
𢧤𢧤鐵tiě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鐵 pairs 金 (metal) with 𢧤 as a sound part; the simplified 铁 is a later shorthand.

Open 铁 →

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 欄; 栏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
闌
闌lán欄lán
Same sound today

In the traditional form 欄, 木 (wood) shows the meaning and 闌 supplies the sound; the simplified 栏 is a later shorthand.

Open 栏 →

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
干
干gān杆gǎn
Same sound today

杆 pairs 木 (tree) with 干, which gives the sound. The 木 part shows the thing is made of wood.

Open 杆 →

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