壳牌 (Ké pái) — Shell (the oil and gas company)

Definition

Brand name of Shell, the global oil and gas company. By itself it usually stands in for 壳牌公司 in news or business contexts.

noun
Shell (the oil and gas company)

Examples

  • 壳牌。
    Ké pái Shì yì jiā guó jì néng yuán gōng sī.
    Shell is an international energy company.
  • 壳牌。
    Ké pái Zài zhōng guó yǒu hěn duō jiā yóu zhàn.
    Shell has many gas stations in China.
  • 壳牌。
    Tā qù nián zài Ké pái gōng zuò.
    He worked at Shell last year.

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.

壳késhell
牌páibrand

壳 points to the shell emblem, and 牌 names the brand.

Characters in this word

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 殼; 壳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
几几jǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
㱿
㱿㱿殼ké(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 殼 is built from 几 (the meaning part) and 㱿 (the sound part); the simplified 壳 is a later shorthand.

Open 壳 →

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
片片piàn
Sound part声符shēngfú
卑
卑bēi牌pái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

牌 puts 片, a flat piece, beside 卑, which gives the sound.

Open 牌 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.