铁皮 (tiě pí) — iron sheet; sheet metal

Definition

noun

iron sheetsheet metal

Measure word · 块

铁皮。
Gōng rén men bǎ tiě pí bān dào chē shàng.
The workers moved the iron sheets onto the truck.
铁皮，。
Zhè zhǒng tiě pí hěn jiān gù, kě yǐ yòng lái zuò wū dǐng.
This kind of sheet metal is very sturdy; it can be used for roofing.
铁皮。
Tā yòng tiě pí zuò le yí gè xiǎo xiāng zi.
He made a small box out of iron sheet.

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.

皮pícovering

铁 is iron and 皮 is a thin covering; together they mean iron sheet.

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.

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

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

Appears in