烈酒 (liè jiǔ) — strong liquor, spirits | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

strong liquorspirits

Measure word · 杯

Examples

烈酒，。
Zhè zhǒng liè jiǔ de dù shu hěn gāo, hē de shí hou yào xiǎo xīn.
This strong liquor has a high alcohol content, so be careful when drinking it.
烈酒，。
Tā yīn wèi hē le tài duō liè jiǔ, dì èr tiān zǎo shàng qǐ bù lái.
He couldn't get up the next morning because he drank too much strong liquor.
烈酒。
Wǒ men qù chāo shì mǎi le jǐ píng liè jiǔ zhǔn bèi guò nián hē.
We went to the supermarket and bought a few bottles of strong liquor to drink during the New Year.

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.

烈lièintense

“烈” gives intense and “酒” gives liquor, so the sense is strong drink.

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.

列灬烈

Meaning part形符xíngfú

灬Written in full as火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

列

列liè烈liè

Same sound today

烈 pairs 列 for the sound with 灬, a form of 火 (fire).

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

酉

酉yǒu酒jiǔ

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Appears in

Alcohol & Tobacco

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