烟囱 (yān cōng) — chimney | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

The chimney itself — the structure on a roof. 炊烟 is the smoke coming out of it, not the chimney.

noun

chimney

Measure word · 个

，烟囱。
Dōng tiān de shí hou, yān cōng lǐ mào chū le wēn nuǎn de yān.
In winter, warm smoke came out of the chimney.
烟囱。
Tā men qǐng rén lái dǎ sǎo yān cōng.
They hired someone to clean the chimney.
烟囱。
Zhè zuò fáng zi de yān cōng shì yòng zhuān qì chéng de.
The chimney of this house is made of bricks.

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.

囱cōngchimney

In 烟囱, 烟 (smoke) tells what the 囱 (chimney) carries: a chimney for smoke.

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 煙; 烟 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 烟 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (烟) it is 煙; in others it is 菸.

火垔煙

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

垔

垔yīn煙yān

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

This story is about the traditional form 煙, not the simplified 烟. It pairs 火, fire, with 垔, which gives the sound.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 囪; 囱 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 囪 pictures a window closed with a shutter, or something similar; the simplified 囱 is a shorthand.

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