青铜器 (qīng tóng qì) — bronze artifact; ancient bronze ware

Definition

noun

bronze artifactancient bronze ware

Measure word · 件

青铜器。
Bó wù guǎn lǐ zhǎn chū le hěn duō qīng tóng qì.
Many bronze artifacts are exhibited in the museum.
青铜器。
Zhè jiàn qīng tóng qì shì shāng cháo de wén wù.
This bronze artifact is a relic from the Shang dynasty.
青铜器。
Kǎo gǔ xué jiā zài mù zhōng fā xiàn le yì pī qīng tóng qì.
Archaeologists discovered a batch of bronze artifacts in the tomb.

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.

青铜bronze

偏正Modifier + head

器qìimplement

青铜 (blue-green copper) names the material, and 器 means an implement or artifact.

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.

An early form of 青 combined 生 and 井, both used for sound; the modern form has changed.

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 銅; 铜 is its simplified writing.

金同銅

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

同

Same sound today

The traditional form 銅 pairs 金 (metal) with 同 as the sound part; the simplified 铜 is a shorthand.

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

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.

Appears in