面点 (miàn diǎn) — pastry (typically Chinese-style flour-based sna…

Definition

noun

pastry (typically Chinese-style flour-based snacks and desserts)

Measure word · 种

面点。
Zhè jiā diàn de miàn diǎn hěn hǎo chī.
The pastries at this shop are delicious.
面点。
Tā xué huì le zuò gè zhǒng miàn diǎn.
She learned to make all kinds of pastries.
面点。
Xià wǔ chá de shí hou lái diǎn miàn diǎn ba.
Have some pastries during afternoon tea.

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.

面 refers to flour and 点 to pastry, giving a flour-based pastry.

Characters in this word

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

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

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 點; 点 is its simplified writing.

黑占點

Meaning part形符xíngfú

黑黑hēiblack

Sound part声符shēngfú

占

占zhàn點diǎn(r)

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

The traditional form 點 pairs 黑 (black) with 占 for its sound; the simplified 点 is a later abbreviation.