植物油 (zhí wù yóu) — vegetable oil; plant oil | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

vegetable oilplant oil

Examples

植物油。
Wǒ yòng zhí wù yóu zuò fàn.
I use vegetable oil to cook.
植物油。
Zhè zhǒng zhí wù yóu hěn jiàn kāng.
This kind of vegetable oil is very healthy.
植物油。
Yòng zhí wù yóu chǎo cài gèng xiāng.
Stir-frying with vegetable oil makes it more fragrant.

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.

植物plant

植zhíplant/grow物wùthing

偏正Modifier + head

植物 says the oil comes from plants, and 油 names the oily substance, so 植物油 means plant oil.

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.

木直植

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

直

直zhí植zhí

Same sound today

植 is made from 木, a tree, and 直, which gives the sound.

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

牛勿物

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

勿

勿wù物wù

Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

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

氵由油

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

由yóu油yóu

Same sound today

油 is built from 氵, a water part, and 由, which supplies the sound.

Appears in

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