煤烟 (méi yān) — smoke from burning coal; soot

Definition

noun

smoke from burning coalsoot

煤烟。
Gōng chǎng pái chū de méi yān wū rǎn le kōng qì.
The smoke from the factory's coal burning polluted the air.
煤烟。
Chú fáng de qiáng shàng jī le yī céng méi yān.
A layer of soot accumulated on the kitchen wall.
，煤烟。
Dōng tiān shāo méi qǔ nuǎn, méi yān hěn dà.
In winter, burning coal for heat produces a lot of smoke.

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 as coal and 烟 as smoke combine to mean smoke produced 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.

火某煤

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

某

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.

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.