锅盖 (guō gài) — pot lid; pot cover | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

pot lidpot cover

Measure word · 个

锅盖，。
Qǐng bǎ guō gài gài shàng, shuǐ kuài kāi le.
Please put the lid on; the water is about to boil.
锅盖，。
Zhè ge guō gài shì bō li zuò de, kě yǐ kàn dào lǐ miàn.
This pot lid is made of glass, so you can see inside.
锅盖。
Wǒ zài chāo shì mǎi le yí gè xīn guō gài.
I bought a new pot lid at the supermarket.

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.

锅 'pot' and 盖 'lid' together name a pot lid.

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.

金咼鍋

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.

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 蓋; 盖 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

盍

盍hé蓋gài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 蓋 pairs 艸, grass, with 盍 for sound. It was a thatch, and it took on cover meanings after 盍 was borrowed for “why not”.