饭团子 (fàn tuán zǐ) — rice ball (a food item, often filled and shaped into a ball)

Definition

noun
rice ball (a food item, often filled and shaped into a ball)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 饭团子。
    Wǒ mǎi le yí gè fàn tuán zǐ dāng wǔ cān.
    I bought a rice ball for lunch.
  • 饭团子。
    Zhè zhǒng fàn tuán zǐ lǐ miàn bāo zhe ròu hé shū cài.
    This kind of rice ball is filled with meat and vegetables.
  • ，饭团子。
    Zài rì běn, fàn tuán zǐ shì yì zhǒng hěn cháng jiàn de shí wù.
    In Japan, rice balls are a very common food.

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.

饭团rice ball
饭fànrice团tuánball
偏正Modifier + head
子zǐnoun ending

“饭” is rice, “团” is ball, and “子” finishes the familiar food name.

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 飯; 饭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
食食shífood
Sound part声符shēngfú
反
反fǎn飯fàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 飯 combines 食 (food) with 反 for the sound; the simplified 饭 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical form.

Open 饭 →

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 團; 团 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéi
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān團tuán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 團 combines 囗 as a meaning part with 專 as a sound part; the story is about 團, not about 团.

Open 团 →

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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