氰化氢 (qíng huà qīng) — hydrogen cyanide

Definition

noun

hydrogen cyanide

氰化氢。
qíng huà qīng Shì yì zhǒng jù dú qì tǐ.
Hydrogen cyanide is a highly toxic gas.
氰化氢。
Shí yàn shì zhōng shǐ yòng qíng huà qīng xū yào fēi cháng xiǎo xīn.
Using hydrogen cyanide in the laboratory requires great caution.
氰化氢。
Zhè xiē huà hé wù zhōng hán yǒu qíng huà qīng.
These compounds contain hydrogen cyanide.

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.

氰化cyanide

氰qíngcyanide化huàchemical form

偏正Modifier + head

氰 'cyanide', 化 'chemical form', and 氢 'hydrogen' together name hydrogen cyanide.

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.

气青氰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

青

Same sound today

氰 used for cyanogen, combines 气, showing it is a gas, with 青 to give the sound qīng.

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

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

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 氫; 氢 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

气气qìair; gas

Sound part声符shēngfú

輕

輕qīng氫qīng

Same sound today

The traditional form 氫 combines 气 (air; gas) with 輕, which gives the pronunciation qīng; the simplified 氢 is a later shorthand.