马掌 (mǎ zhǎng) — horseshoe | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

horseshoe

Measure word · 块

马掌。
Zhè pǐ mǎ xū yào huàn yí gè xīn de mǎ zhǎng.
This horse needs a new horseshoe.
马掌。
Tiě jiàng zhèng zài gěi mǎ dīng mǎ zhǎng.
The blacksmith is nailing horseshoes onto the horse.
马掌。
Jiù mǎ zhǎng yǐ jīng mó sǔn dé hěn lì hài le.
The old horseshoe is already very worn.

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.

马 gives horse, and 掌 gives a sole or palm, naming a horse's hoof cover.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

It combines 手, meaning hand, with 尚, which gives it a sound close to shàng.