球状 (qiú zhuàng) — spherical; globular; ball-shaped | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

adjective

sphericalglobularball-shaped

Examples

球状？
Zhè ge qiú zhuàng wù tǐ shì shén me?
What is this spherical object?
球状。
Dì qiú shì qiú zhuàng de.
The Earth is spherical.
球状。
Shí yàn shì lǐ yǒu yí gè qiú zhuàng róng qì.
There is a globular container in the lab.

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.

状zhuàngshape

球 gives ball, and 状 gives shape, so the term means ball-shaped.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

求

求qiú球qiú

Same sound today

球 is built from 玉, meaning jade, and 求, which 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 狀; 状 is its simplified writing.

爿犬狀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

爿

爿pán狀zhuàng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 狀 pairs 犬 (dog) with 爿 as a sound component; the simplified 状 is a shorthand, not the historical shape.

Appears in

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