锅子 (guō zǐ) — pot, saucepan; hot pot (the dish or the cooking vessel)

Definition

Colloquial word for a cooking pot; also refers to the dish hot pot (similar to 火锅). The -子 suffix makes it everyday speech rather than the more neutral 锅.

noun
potsaucepanhot pot (the dish or the cooking vessel)
Measure word · 口

Examples

  • 锅子，。
    Zhè ge guō zǐ tài dà le, wǒ ná bú dòng.
    This pot is too big; I can't carry it.
  • 锅子。
    Dōng tiān wǒ men yì jiā rén zuì ài chī guō zǐ.
    In winter, our family loves eating hot pot the most.
  • 锅子，。
    Tā bǎ guō zǐ fàng zài zào tái shàng, kāi shǐ zhǔ tāng.
    She put the pot on the stove and started making soup.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

锅guōpot
子zǐsuffix

锅 names the pot, and 子 gives it a familiar everyday form.

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 鍋; 锅 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi鍋guō
Same sound today

In the traditional form 鍋, 金 marks metal and 咼 provides the sound; the simplified 锅 is a later shorthand.

Open 锅 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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