水晶球 (shuǐ jīng qiú) — crystal ball | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

crystal ball

Measure word · 个

Examples

。
Tā yòng shuǐ jīng qiú lái yù cè wèi lái.
She uses a crystal ball to predict the future.
水晶球。
Zhè ge shuǐ jīng qiú shì wǒ zuì xǐ huan de shōu cáng pǐn.
This crystal ball is my favorite collectible.
水晶球。
Shāng diàn lǐ bǎi mǎn le gè zhǒng dà xiǎo de shuǐ jīng qiú.
The shop is full of crystal balls of all sizes.

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.

水晶crystal

水shuǐwater晶jīngcrystal

偏正Modifier + head

水 and 晶 together form the image of a clear, water-like crystal, and 球 is the round shape.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

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

晶 is drawn as three suns placed together, giving a picture of bright light.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

求

求qiú球qiú

Same sound today

球 is built from 玉, meaning jade, and 求, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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