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瓷器 (cí qì) — porcelain; chinaware

Definition

瓷器 is fine porcelain, especially the high-fired kind China is famous for. 陶瓷 is the broader category that includes pottery, stoneware, and porcelain.

noun
porcelainchinaware
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • 瓷器。
    Zhè jiàn cí qì shì qīng dài guān yáo shāo zhì de.
    This piece of porcelain was fired in a Qing-dynasty imperial kiln.
  • 瓷器。
    Tā huā le hěn duō qián shōu cáng gǔ dài cí qì.
    He spent a lot of money collecting ancient porcelain.
  • 瓷器。
    Zhōng guó cí qì zài shì jiè shàng fēi cháng yǒu míng.
    Chinese porcelain is very famous in the world.

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.

瓷cíporcelain
器qìvessel

瓷 + 器 = 瓷器: porcelain vessel, an object made of porcelain.

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
瓦瓦wǎearthenware
Sound part声符shēngfú
次
次cì瓷cí
Same sound today

瓷 is built from 次, giving its sound, and 瓦, meaning earthenware.

Open 瓷 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.

Open 器 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Crafts & Handiwork

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