冥王星 (Míng wáng xīng) — Pluto (dwarf planet)

Definition

noun

Pluto (dwarf planet)

Measure word · 颗

冥王星。
Míng wáng xīng Céng jīng shì tài yáng xì de dì jiǔ dà xíng xīng.
Pluto was once the ninth planet of the solar system.
1930冥王星。
Kē xué jiā zài 1930 nián fā xiàn le Míng wáng xīng.
Scientists discovered Pluto in 1930.
冥王星。
Xiàn zài Míng wáng xīng bèi chóng xīn fēn lèi wèi ǎi xíng xīng.
Now Pluto has been reclassified as a dwarf planet.

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.

冥王underworld king

偏正Modifier + head

冥王 names the underworld king, and 星 marks it as a celestial body.

Characters in this word

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

Originally, 冥 was made from 冖 (cloth cover), 日 (sun), and 廾 (two hands) to show darkness; the 廾 part later changed.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 王 comes from a picture of a ritual axe, an object kept near a throne and connected with royal power.

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

The top of 星 is a later simplified form of 晶, twinkling stars; the bottom 生 shows the sound.

Appears in