化学 (huà xué) — chemistry (the science); (attributive) chemical

Definition

noun

chemistry (the science)(attributive) chemical

Measure word · 门

化学。
Wǒ dà xué de zhuān yè shì huà xué.
My major in college is chemistry.
化学。
Zhè zhǒng huà xué wù zhì duì shēn tǐ yǒu hài.
This chemical substance is harmful to the body.
化学。
Xià jié kè zài huà xué jiào shì shàng.
Next class is held in the chemistry classroom.

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.

化学 is the 学 of 化; the study of change names chemistry.

Characters in this word

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

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

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