喇叭

lǎba
noun HSK 7 #7,526

Meanings

  1. 1 horn; trumpet; bugle
  2. 2 loudspeaker; speaker

Characters

Neither character has independent meaning — 喇叭 is a single unit, likely onomatopoeic from the sound of a horn blast.

Examples

Tā àn le yíxià qìchē lǎba.
He honked the car horn.
Guǎngchǎng shàng de lǎba zài bōfàng yīnyuè.
The loudspeakers in the square are playing music.

Tips

usage
喇叭 covers a surprisingly wide range: car horns (汽车喇叭), musical instruments like trumpets (喇叭), loudspeakers, and even phone/computer speakers. The shape of the flared opening is the common thread. Morning glory flowers are called 喇叭 because of their trumpet shape.

Stroke Order