pound / scale / to weigh
English · pound / scale / to weigh
pound (unit of weight) or scale for weighing
- 这箱苹果有十磅。Zhè xiāng píngguǒ yǒu shí bàng.This box of apples weighs ten pounds.
- 请把行李放在磅上。Qǐng bǎ xínglǐ fàng zài bàng shàng.Please put the luggage on the scale.
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 15 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (石) is narrower and sturdy, while the right side (旁) is broader and taller, keeping the entire character well-balanced on the vertical axis.
Radical 石 · Stone Radical (Stone, rock, heavy objects)
Semantic Clue (形旁): 石 (Indicates stone weights used on ancient weighing scales.)
Phonetic Clue (声旁): 旁 (original sound: páng / bàng)
A heavy stone (石) placed beside a standard measuring structure (旁) creates a device to weigh (磅) things down.
- 石 Stone / Scale base
- 旁 Side / Phonetic hint
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
12· Phonetic Root: 旁 (páng)Origin: Combined from 石 (stone, representing weight and heavy balances) and 旁 (providing the phonetic reading), originally referring to heavy stone weights and scales.
Semantic Evolution: Over time, it expanded from physical stone scales to mean 'to weigh', and later became the phonetically-adapted loan word for the English unit of weight, the 'pound'.
- The character bridges traditional Chinese measurement units with modern international loanword adaptation.
You step onto a heavy stone (石) scale standing right beside (旁) you to check your weight in pounds.
bàngConfusing the stone radical 石 on the left with similar left-side radicals like 示 or 衣.
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