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废料 (fèi liào) — waste material, scrap, rubbish; (derogatory) a good-for-nothing, worthless person

Definition

废料 is 'waste material / scrap' — leftover raw stuff from industry or production that can be discarded or recycled. As a derogatory insult ('good-for-nothing'), it likens a person to worthless refuse.

noun
waste materialscraprubbish(derogatory) a good-for-nothingworthless person
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 废料。
    Gōng chǎng bǎ fèi liào yùn dào huí shōu zhàn chǔ lǐ.
    The factory transports the waste material to the recycling station for processing.
  • 废料。
    Zhè xiē jīn shǔ fèi liào kě yǐ chóng xīn róng liàn.
    This scrap metal can be remelted.
  • ，废料。
    Tā zhěng tiān yóu shǒu hào xián, zhēn shì gè fèi liào.
    He loafs around all day; he's really a good-for-nothing.

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.

废fèidiscarded
料liàomaterial

废 says the material is discarded or useless, and 料 is material, so it means scrap or waste.

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 廢; 废 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎnghouse
Sound part声符shēngfú
發
發fā廢fèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 廢 shows 广 as a house and 發 as the sound.

Open 废 →

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
Materials & Substances

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