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煤矿 (méi kuàng) — coal mine

Definition

noun
coal mine
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 煤矿。
    Zhè ge méi kuàng de chǔ liàng fēi cháng fēng fù.
    This coal mine has very abundant reserves.
  • 煤矿。
    Tā de zǔ fù céng jīng zài yí gè méi kuàng lǐ gōng zuò guò èr shí nián.
    His grandfather worked in a coal mine for twenty years.
  • 煤矿。
    Zhèng fǔ guān bì le nà jiā ān quán bù dá biāo dì méi kuàng.
    The government shut down that coal mine which didn't meet safety standards.

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
矿kuàngmine

煤 (coal) specifies the kind of 矿 (mine).

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 →

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 礦; 矿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shístone
Sound part声符shēngfú
廣
廣guǎng礦kuàng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 礦 shows 石, meaning stone, beside 廣, which gives the sound. The simplified 矿 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 矿 →
Appears in
Energy & Power

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