微波炉 (wēi bō lú) — microwave oven | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

microwave oven

Measure word · 台

Examples

微波炉。
Wǒ gāng mǎi le yì tái wēi bō lú.
I just bought a microwave oven.
微波炉。
Bǎ shèng cài fàng jìn wēi bō lú rè liǎng fēn zhōng.
Put the leftovers in the microwave and heat for two minutes.
微波炉。
Yòng wēi bō lú jiě dòng ròu lèi hěn kuài.
Using a microwave to thaw meat is very fast.

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.

微波microwave

微wēitiny波bōwave

偏正Modifier + head

炉lúoven

微波 (microwave) and 炉 (oven) combine into a microwave oven.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

𡵂攵微

𡵂美měi
攵攴pūhand with tool

The old form showed 𡵂 (a variant of 美, a person with long hair) and 攵 (a hand with a tool) splitting or combing hairs, hence minute; 微 later added 彳 to emphasize action.

Open 微 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

氵皮波

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

皮pí波bō

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 氵 is water, and the right side 皮 gives the sound.

Open 波 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.