管子

• Pinyin: guǎn zi
• Hanzi breakdown: 管 = 竹 (bamboo) + 官 (phonetic — originally a bamboo tube/pipe); 子 = child/diminutive suffix

Meaning

Tube; pipe. A hollow cylindrical conduit used to carry liquids, gases, or as a structural component.

A common everyday noun referring to any kind of pipe or tube. Used in plumbing, construction, industry, and everyday contexts. The word is highly versatile — from garden hoses to industrial pipelines. Not to be confused with the Warring States text 管子 (Guanzi), a classical Chinese philosophical work attributed to Guan Zhong.

Examples

1. 水管工检查了厨房的管子，发现有一处接口出现渗漏。 The plumber checked the kitchen pipe and found a leaking joint.
2. 工厂里铺设了数百米长的输气管子，用于输送原料。 The factory installed hundreds of meters of gas piping to transport raw materials.
3. 孩子们用硬纸板卷成管子，当作望远镜玩耍。 The kids rolled stiff cardboard into a tube and played with it like a telescope.

Usage Guide

Context: construction, plumbing, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 暖气管子漏水了，需要尽快联系维修师傅来处理。(The heating pipe is leaking — we need to contact a repair technician to deal with it as soon as possible.)
• 这根橡皮管子可以用来给花园浇水，非常方便。(This rubber tube can be used to water the garden — very convenient.)

Don't Say

• 他的血管是人体的管子 — use 血管 directly; 管子 is for physical pipes/tubes in construction or everyday objects, not anatomical vessels

Origin & History

管 (tube, pipe; to manage) + 子 (diminutive suffix used for objects). The character 管 originally depicted a bamboo tube or flute.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal