TongTong
Sign in

原材料 (yuán cái liào) — raw and semifinished materials

Definition

原材料 covers the full range of inputs to production, from raw to semi-finished materials. 原料 is narrower, referring only to unprocessed raw materials.

noun
raw and semifinished materials
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 原材料。
    Zhè pī yuán cái liào de zhì liàng hěn hǎo.
    This batch of raw materials is of good quality.
  • 原材料。
    Gōng sī xū yào cǎi gòu gèng duō yuán cái liào.
    The company needs to purchase more raw materials.
  • 原材料。
    yuán cái liào Jià gé bō dòng huì yǐng xiǎng shēng chǎn chéng běn.
    Fluctuations in raw material prices affect production costs.

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.

原yuánraw
材料materials
材cáimaterial料liàostuff
联合Coordinate

原 (raw) plus 材料 (materials) gives raw and semifinished materials.

Characters in this word

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

原 combines 泉 (spring) and 厂 (cliff), picturing a spring bursting from a cliff-side, which gives the sense of origin or source.

Open 原 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
才
才cái材cái
Same sound today

材 combines 木, wood, with 才, cái, as its sound part.

Open 材 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.