光圈 (guāng quān) — aperture (in photography); the diaphragm that c…

Definition

noun

aperture (in photography)the diaphragm that controls the aperture

光圈。
Tiáo zhěng guāng quān kě yǐ kòng zhì jìn guāng liáng.
Adjusting the aperture can control the amount of light entering.
光圈。
Dà guāng quān néng pāi chū bèi jǐng mó hu de zhào piàn.
A large aperture can produce photos with blurred backgrounds.
光圈。
Shè yǐng shī bǎ guāng quān diào dào zuì xiǎo.
The photographer set the aperture to the smallest.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

光 means light and 圈 means ring, so the image is a ring of light, used for the aperture.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

囗卷圈

Meaning part形符xíngfú

囗囗wéi

Sound part声符shēngfú

卷

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

圈 is made of the outer 囗, an enclosure shape, and the inner 卷, which gives the sound.

Appears in