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牙膏 (yá gāo) — toothpaste

Definition

牙膏 is the compound for 'toothpaste' — a single everyday product noun, with no real confusion with 牙/牙齿 ('tooth') or 牙刷 ('toothbrush'). Counted with 管 ('tube').

noun
toothpaste
Measure word · 管

Examples

  • 牙膏。
    Wǒ qù chāo shì mǎi le yì guǎn xīn yá gāo.
    I went to the supermarket and bought a new tube of toothpaste.
  • 牙膏。
    Zhè zhǒng yá gāo hěn hǎo yòng.
    This toothpaste is good to use.
  • 牙膏。
    Wǒ zǎo shàng hé wǎn shàng dōu yòng yá gāo.
    I use toothpaste in the morning and evening.

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.

牙yátooth
膏gāopaste

The word pairs 'tooth' with 'paste' to name the paste used on teeth.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 牙 →

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
高
高gāo膏gào
Same sound today

膏 combines 高 as a sound part with 肉 (meat) as its meaning part.

Open 膏 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Toiletries & Cosmetics

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