TongTong
Sign in

天鹅绒 (tiān é róng) — velvet

Definition

noun
velvet
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 天鹅绒，。
    Zhè jiàn yī fu shì yòng tiān é róng zuò de, mō qǐ lái hěn róu ruǎn.
    This piece of clothing is made of velvet and feels very soft.
  • 天鹅绒。
    Tā zài chuāng lián diàn tiāo le yí kuài shēn hóng sè de tiān é róng.
    She picked out a piece of dark red velvet at the curtain shop.
  • 天鹅绒。
    tiān é róng De guāng zé ràng tā kàn qǐ lái hěn gāo jí.
    The luster of velvet makes it look very classy.

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.

天鹅swan
天tiānsky鹅égoose
偏正Modifier + head
绒róngvelvet

“天鹅” names the swan, and “绒” gives a soft fabric, so the word means swan-down velvet.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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 鵝; 鹅 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鳥鳥niǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
我
我wǒ鵝é
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 鵝, 鳥 shows it is a bird and 我 gives the sound; the simplified 鹅 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 鹅 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 绒 →
Appears in
Materials & Substances

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