椰汁 (yē zhī) — coconut water | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

coconut water

Measure word · 杯

，椰汁。
Fú wù yuán, wǒ yào yì bēi yē zhī.
Waiter, I'd like a glass of coconut water.
椰汁，。
Zhè ge yē zhī hěn xīn xiān, wèi dào hěn hǎo.
This coconut water is very fresh and tastes great.
椰汁。
Yùn dòng yǐ hòu hē yē zhī kě yǐ bǔ chōng shuǐ fèn.
Drinking coconut water after exercise can replenish fluids.

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.

椰yēcoconut

椰 gives coconut and 汁 gives liquid, so the word means coconut juice.

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.

木耶椰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

耶

Same sound today

椰 has 木 on the left, showing a tree, and 耶 on the right, giving the yē sound.

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

氵十汁

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

十

十shí汁zhī(r)

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

汁 has 氵, a form of 水, on the left and 十 on the right. The water part shows it is about a liquid, and 十 gives the sound.