易燃品 (yì rán pǐn) — flammable materials; inflammable goods

Definition

易燃品 literally means 'easy-to-burn items' and is used formally for flammable goods and hazardous materials. You will see it on storage and shipping signs and instructions.

noun
flammable materialsinflammable goods
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 易燃品。
    Zhè xiē yì rán pǐn bì xū fàng zài ān quán de dì fāng.
    These flammable materials must be placed in a safe place.
  • 易燃品。
    Yùn shū yì rán pǐn de shí hou yào tè bié xiǎo xīn.
    Be especially careful when transporting flammable goods.
  • 易燃品。
    Cāng kù lǐ jìn zhǐ cún fàng yì rán pǐn.
    It is forbidden to store flammable materials in the warehouse.

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.

易燃easily burn
易yìeasily燃ránburn
偏正Modifier + head
品pǐngoods

易 means easily, 燃 means burn, and 品 means goods, so 易燃品 names items that catch fire easily.

Characters in this word

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

The early form of 易 was a drawing of a filled container, not a chameleon. It showed something full that could be given out.

Open 易 →

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
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
然
然rán燃rán
Same sound today

燃 adds 火 (fire) to 然 to write “burn”; 然 supplied the sound, and 火 was added to make the fire meaning clear.

Open 燃 →

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

品 repeats the same simple shape three times, representing various objects.

Open 品 →

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