爆米花 (bào mǐ huā) — popcorn; puffed rice | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

popcornpuffed rice

Measure word · 颗

Examples

，爆米花。
Kàn diàn yǐng de shí hou, wǒ xǐ huan chī bào mǐ huā.
I like to eat popcorn when watching movies.
爆米花，。
Zhè zhǒng bào mǐ huā shì yòng dà mǐ zuò de, hěn cuì.
This kind of puffed rice is made from rice and is very crispy.
爆米花。
Chāo shì lǐ de bào mǐ huā hěn pián yi.
The popcorn/puffed rice in the supermarket is very cheap.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

米花rice flower

米mǐrice花huāflower

偏正Modifier + head

爆 means to pop and 米花 is rice flower or puffed rice, so 爆米花 names popped rice.

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.

火暴爆

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

暴

暴bào爆bào

Same sound today

爆 combines 火 (fire) with 暴, which supplies the sound and also originally meant violence.

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

米 is a picture of rice kernels without husk, with the horizontal stroke as a bamboo sieve. It is unrelated to similar-looking grain characters.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

艹化花

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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