líng
noun HSK 5 #5,287

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 bell (small)
  2. 2 bell-shaped object; buzzer

Examples

HSK 2
Shàngkè líng xiǎng le.
The class bell rang.
HSK 2
Zìxíngchē shàng yǒu yígè líng.
There is a bell on the bicycle.
HSK 7-9
Māo bózi shàng guà zhe yígè xiǎo língdang.
The cat has a small bell hanging around its neck.

Tips

usage
铃声 = ringtone. 门铃 = doorbell. 铃铛 = small bell/jingle bell. 闹铃 = alarm.
usage
appears in the idiom 解铃还须系铃人 - 'whoever tied the bell on the tiger must untie it,' meaning the person who caused a problem should be the one to solve it.

Components

radical
jīn
metal; gold (radical form)
Left metal radical - simplified side-form of , indexing radical for . Bells were cast bronze and later iron, so the metal classification is literal. Same metal-radical family as (large bell / clock), (steel), (silver), (copper). The radical sets apart from sound-making chars built on different materials.
phonetic
lìng
command; order
Right phonetic - supplies the sound (lìng → líng, slight initial palatalization; the líng-family includes líng age, líng tinkling, líng spirit, líng zero). Itself depicting a kneeling person under a command/decree. Faint semantic echo: bells were rung to issue orders or signal events, fitting the 'command-tone' phonetic.

Stroke Order

líng