木质部 (mù zhì bù) — (botany) xylem | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Botany term: the plant tissue that transports water and minerals from roots upward. Pairs with its counterpart 韧皮部 (phloem), which carries sugars.

noun

(botany) xylem

木质部。
Zhí wù de mù zhì bù fù zé shū sòng shuǐ fèn hé kuàng wù zhì.
The xylem of plants is responsible for transporting water and minerals.
木质部。
mù zhì bù Hé rèn pí bù shì wéi guǎn shù de zhǔ yào zǔ chéng bù fen.
Xylem and phloem are the main components of vascular bundles.
木质部。
Zhè kē shù de mù zhì bù yǐ jīng shòu sǔn le.
The xylem of this tree has already been damaged.

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.

木质

偏正Modifier + head

木质 names the woody substance, and 部 marks the part built from it.

Characters in this word

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

木 is drawn as a tree, with branches above and roots below.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 質; 质 is its simplified writing.

斦貝質

The traditional form 質 is made up of 貝 and 斦; this describes 質, not the simplified 质.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

咅

咅pǒu部bù

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

部 pairs 咅, which gives the sound, with 邑. It originally named a place in today's Gansu.