铁桥 (tiě qiáo) — iron bridge; railway bridge

Definition

noun

iron bridgerailway bridge

Measure word · 座

铁桥。
Zhè zuò tiě qiáo jiàn yú yì bǎi nián qián.
This iron bridge was built a hundred years ago.
铁桥。
Huǒ chē cóng tiě qiáo shàng huǎn huǎn shǐ guò.
The train slowly passed over the railway bridge.
铁桥。
Hé shàng de lǎo tiě qiáo yǐ jīng shēng xiù le.
The old iron bridge over the river has rusted.

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 contributes the material, 桥 contributes the bridge, so the word means an iron or railway bridge.

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.

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 橋; 桥 is its simplified writing.

木喬橋

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùwood

Sound part声符shēngfú

喬

喬qiáo橋qiáo

Same sound today

The traditional form 橋 pairs 木 (wood) with 喬 (qiáo), which gave the character its sound; the simplified 桥 is a later abbreviation.