铁笼 (tiě lóng) — iron cage; metal cage

Definition

noun

iron cagemetal cage

Measure word · 个

铁笼。
Lǎo hǔ bèi guān zài tiě lóng lǐ.
The tiger is locked in an iron cage.
铁笼，。
Zhè ge tiě lóng fēi cháng jiān gù, bù róng yì pò huài.
This metal cage is very sturdy and not easy to break.
铁笼。
Tā yòng tiě lóng zhuāng le jǐ zhī tù zi.
He used an iron cage to hold a few rabbits.

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 names the metal, and 笼 gives a cage.

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 籠; 笼 is its simplified writing.

𥫗龍籠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

𥫗Written in full as竹zhú

Sound part声符shēngfú

龍

龍lóng籠lóng

Same sound today

The traditional form 籠 is built from 竹 (bamboo) and 龍, which gives the sound. The simplified 笼 is a later shorthand.