匣 (xiá): small box

Measure Word

一个匣子 gè

Meanings

1 small box
2 case
3 casket

Characters

匣

xiá

box; casket (single character)

Examples

HSK 6

她把珠宝放在一个精美的匣子里。

Tā bǎ zhūbǎo fàngzài yī gè jīngměi de xiá zi lǐ.

She put the jewelry in an exquisite little box.

HSK 6

古代皇帝用金匣保存重要文件。

Gǔdài huángdì yòng jīn xiá bǎocún zhòngyào wénjiàn.

Ancient emperors used gold caskets to preserve important documents.

Tips

memory

匣 looks like something enclosed (匚 = open box radical) with a 甲 inside, a shell or box containing something.

Components

radical

匚 fāng

open container; receptacle

Outer container 匚, Kangxi #22, an open-sided box turned on its side. The indexing radical, drawn as the top-left vertical and the closing bottom-right stroke. Anchors 匣 in the container family with 匠 (artisan in a workshop), 区 (zone), 匿 (hide inside). Specifically a small box that snaps shut, like a jewellery case (盒子).

phonetic

甲 jiǎ

first; armour; shell

Inner 甲 supplies the sound, jiǎ shifting to xiá through historical j/x palatal alternation. 甲 itself depicts a tortoise's plated shell, which is also a hard protective box, a faint semantic echo. Same phonetic feeds 押 (deposit, locked away), 闸 (sluice gate), 鸭 (duck, borrowed sound only).