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底片 (dǐ piàn) — (photographic) negative; photographic plate (historical)

Definition

noun
(photographic) negativephotographic plate (historical)
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 底片。
    Zhè zhāng dǐ piàn yǐ jīng bào guāng le.
    This negative has already been exposed.
  • 底片。
    Chōng xǐ dǐ piàn xū yào zhuān mén de yào shuǐ.
    Developing negatives requires special chemicals.
  • 底片。
    Lǎo shè yǐng shī hái bǎo liú zhe bō li dǐ piàn.
    The old photographer still keeps glass plates.

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.

底dǐbase/bottom
片piànsheet

底 means base/bottom and 片 means sheet, so 底片 is the base sheet of a photo.

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
广广guǎngbuilding
Sound part声符shēngfú
氐
氐dī底dǐ
Same sound today

底 pairs 广 (building) with 氐, pointing to the bottom or foundation of a building. Some read 氐 as a bowing figure or tree root, adding a sense of 'down'.

Open 底 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 片 →
Appears in
Photography & Design

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