铅笔盒 (qiān bǐ hé) — pencil case

Definition

noun
pencil case
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 铅笔盒，。
    Wǒ de qiān bǐ hé shì lán sè de, hěn piào liang.
    My pencil case is blue and very nice.
  • 铅笔盒。
    Tā bǎ qiān bǐ hé wàng zài jiào shì le.
    He left his pencil case in the classroom.
  • 铅笔盒，。
    Zhè ge qiān bǐ hé tài xiǎo le, zhuāng bú xià zhè me duō bǐ.
    This pencil case is too small to hold so many pens.

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.

铅笔pencil
铅qiānlead笔bǐpen
偏正Modifier + head
盒hébox

铅笔 (lead pen) and 盒 (box) form a box that holds pencils.

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 鉛; 铅 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
㕣
㕣㕣鉛qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 鉛 pairs 金 (metal) with 㕣 as a sound part.

Open 铅 →

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 筆; 笔 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
聿
聿yù筆bǐ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The simplified 笔 is based on the traditional form 筆, which puts 竹 (bamboo) beside 聿 (writing brush). 聿 already meant the brush and supplied the sound; 竹 was added later to show it was made of bamboo.

Open 笔 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 盒 →

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