养料 (yǎng liào) — nutrient, nourishment (literal, e.g. for plants or organisms); nourishment (figurative, e.g. intellectual or spiritual)

Definition

Nourishment for plants or soil (nutrients, fertilizer-like substances), extended figuratively to spiritual or intellectual sustenance.

noun
nutrientnourishment (literal, e.g. for plants or organisms)nourishment (figurative, e.g. intellectual or spiritual)

Examples

  • 养料。
    Zhí wù cóng tǔ rǎng zhōng xī shōu yǎng liào.
    Plants absorb nutrients from the soil.
  • 养料。
    Dú shū shì jīng shén yǎng liào de zhòng yào lái yuán.
    Reading is an important source of spiritual nourishment.
  • 养料。
    Zhè xiē féi liào wèi zhuāng jia tí gōng le chōng zú de yǎng liào.
    These fertilizers provide sufficient nourishment for the crops.

Origin

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.

养yǎngnourish
料liàomaterial

'养' and '料' mean material that nourishes.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 養; 养 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 養 uses 羊 as a sound part and 食 as a meaning part.

Open 养 →

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

料 combines 米 (rice) with 斗 (a dipper), showing rice being measured or gauged.

Open 料 →

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