铁锤 (tiě chuí) — hammer (made of iron or steel)

Definition

noun

hammer (made of iron or steel)

Measure word · 把

铁锤。
Tā yòng tiě chuí bǎ dīng zi dīng jìn qiáng lǐ.
He used a hammer to drive the nail into the wall.
铁锤，。
Lǎo zhāng de tiě chuí hěn zhòng, yì bān rén jǔ bù qǐ lái.
Old Zhang's hammer is very heavy; ordinary people can't lift it.
，铁锤。
Zài huǒ zāi zhōng, xiāo fáng yuán yòng tiě chuí zá kāi le mén.
During the fire, the firefighters used a hammer to break open the door.

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 (iron) and 锤 (hammer) combine to mean a hammer made of iron or steel.

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 錘; 锤 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 锤 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 錘; in others it is 鎚.

金垂錘

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

垂

Same sound today

The traditional form 錘 pairs 金 (metal) with 垂, which gives its sound; the simplified 锤 is a later shorthand.

Appears in