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气孔 (qì kǒng) — (botany) stoma; stomatal pore; (zoology) spiracle (respiratory opening in insects, fish, etc.); (general) pore; air hole (in metals, minerals, or other materials)

Definition

A specialized 'air pore' in biology and materials: stomata on plant leaves for gas exchange, spiracles on insects/fish for breathing, or small holes in metals and minerals.

noun
(botany) stomastomatal pore(zoology) spiracle (respiratory opening in insects, fish, etc.)(general) poreair hole (in metals, minerals, or other materials)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 气孔，。
    Zhí wù de yè piàn shàng yǒu xǔ duō qì kǒng, yòng lái jiāo huàn qì tǐ.
    Plant leaves have many stomata for gas exchange.
  • 气孔。
    Kūn chóng tōng guò shēn tǐ liǎng cè de qì kǒng hū xī.
    Insects breathe through spiracles on the sides of their bodies.
  • 气孔。
    Zhè kuài jīn shǔ biǎo miàn yǒu hěn duō xì xiǎo de qì kǒng.
    The surface of this metal has many tiny pores.

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.

气qìair/gas
孔kǒnghole

气 air/gas and 孔 hole together mean an opening for air.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →

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

  • 丿丿piěopening
  • 子子zǐchild

孔 pairs 丿 (an opening) with 子 (a child), showing an opening in a newborn's skull.

Open 孔 →
Appears in
Biology

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