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铺平 (pū píng) — to pave, spread out, and make smooth and level

Definition

A separable verb meaning to spread or smooth something out flat (paper, bedsheets, a road). Often pairs with 把 to mark the object being acted on, as in 把纸铺平.

verb
to pavespread outand make smooth and level

Examples

  • 铺平。
    Gōng rén zhèng zài pū píng lù miàn.
    Workers are paving the road.
  • 铺平。
    Bǎ zhè zhāng zhǐ pū píng zài xiě zì.
    Spread this paper out flat before writing on it.
  • 铺平。
    Tā yòng shǒu bǎ chuáng dān pū píng le.
    She smoothed the bedsheet with her hands.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

铺pùspread
平píngflat

铺 (spread) and 平 (flat) combine to mean spread something out until it is flat.

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 鋪; 铺 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīngold; metal
Sound part声符shēngfú
甫
甫fǔ鋪pū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鋪 pairs 金 (gold; metal) with 甫 as a sound part; the simplified 铺 is a shorthand.

Open 铺 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →
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