煤灰 (méi huī) — coal ash

Definition

noun
coal ash
Easily confused

Examples

  • 煤灰。
    Gōng chǎng bǎ méi huī pái jìn le hé lǐ.
    The factory discharged coal ash into the river.
  • 煤灰。
    Zhè xiē méi huī kě yǐ yòng lái pū lù.
    This coal ash can be used to pave roads.
  • ，煤灰。
    Dà fēng yì chuī, méi huī piāo dé dào chù dōu shì.
    When the wind blows hard, coal ash floats everywhere.

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.

煤méicoal
灰huīash

煤 is coal and 灰 is ash; together they name the ash left by burning coal.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
某
某mǒu煤méi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

煤 puts 火 (fire) on the left and 某 on the right; the fire part relates to coal, and 某 gives the sound.

Open 煤 →

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

灰 shows 火 (fire) that can be touched by 又 (hand), meaning ash.

Open 灰 →

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