骗子手 (piàn zǐ shǒu) — a swindler, a cheat

Definition

Note the spacing: 骗 (piàn) is the verb 'to cheat' and 手 (shǒu) is the bound noun meaning 'person (who does X)' — it is NOT 骗子 ('swindler' as a standalone noun). The whole string reads as 'a swindler, a cheat'.

noun
a swindlera cheat

Examples

  • 骗子手。
    Nà ge piàn zǐ shǒu piàn le hěn duō rén qián.
    That swindler cheated many people out of money.
  • 骗子手。
    Jǐng fāng zhōng yú zhuā dào le nà ge piàn zǐ shǒu.
    The police finally caught that swindler.
  • 骗子手，。
    Tā shì gè jiǎo huá de piàn zǐ shǒu, méi rén xiāng xìn tā.
    He is a cunning swindler—nobody trusts him.

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.

骗子swindler
骗piàncheat子zǐ
手shǒuperson

骗 means to cheat; 子 and 手 point to a person who does it.

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 騙; 骗 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎhorse
Sound part声符shēngfú
扁
扁biǎn騙piàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 騙 pairs 馬 (horse) with 扁, which gives the sound; it originally meant to mount a horse by swinging a leg across it. The simplified 骗 is a later abbreviation.

Open 骗 →

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 →

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →

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