In the lesson, the word 节 was discussed as one of the mysteries of Chinese as the measure word for classes and batteries. The way my Chinese teacher explained it to me was that 节 originally referred to sections of bamboo (bamboo has the little niches in between each "section"). This explanation also accounts for the grass radical. Batteries resemble those sections of bamboo stalks, classes are like the parts of the school day (more metaphorical), and the holidays divide up the year into sections. Hopefully that helps people remember the word 节 a little better.
Posted on: Buying Batteries
April 12, 2008 at 7:47 PMIn the lesson, the word 节 was discussed as one of the mysteries of Chinese as the measure word for classes and batteries. The way my Chinese teacher explained it to me was that 节 originally referred to sections of bamboo (bamboo has the little niches in between each "section"). This explanation also accounts for the grass radical. Batteries resemble those sections of bamboo stalks, classes are like the parts of the school day (more metaphorical), and the holidays divide up the year into sections. Hopefully that helps people remember the word 节 a little better.