尔格 (ěr gē) — (classifier) erg (unit of energy)

Definition

A CGS-system unit of energy, now mostly seen in older physics texts. Pronounced 'ěrgé' as a single unit.

classifier
erg (unit of energy)

Examples

  • 尔格。
    Zhè ge wù lǐ liàng tōng cháng yòng ěr gē lái cè liáng.
    This physical quantity is usually measured in ergs.
  • 尔格。
    Yì ěr gē de néng liàng fēi cháng xiǎo.
    The energy of one erg is very small.
  • ，尔格。
    Zài wù lǐ xué zhōng, ěr gē cháng yòng lái biǎo shì gōng huò néng liàng.
    In physics, the erg is often used to represent work or energy.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爾; 尔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 爾, simplified as 尔, originally drew cloth on a loom with crossing threads. It was borrowed for its sound to write “you,” so the picture is unrelated to that meaning.

Open 尔 →

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mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè格gé
Same sound today

格 is built from 木 (wood) on the left and 各 on the right, which gives the sound.

Open 格 →

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