用水 (yòng shuǐ) — to use water; water usage

Definition

Refers to the act or amount of water consumption — used in contexts like saving water (节约用水) or industrial/agricultural usage. As a verb phrase, it often functions as a topic or object, e.g. 工厂每天用水很多.

verb
to use waterwater usage

Examples

  • 用水。
    Zhè ge gōng chǎng měi tiān yòng shuǐ hěn duō.
    This factory uses a lot of water every day.
  • 。
    Xǐ yī fu yòng le bù shǎo shuǐ.
    Washing clothes used quite a bit of water.
  • 用水，。
    Qǐng jié yuē yòng shuǐ, bú yào làng fèi.
    Please conserve water — don't waste it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

用yònguse
水shuǐwater

用 means to use, and 水 is water.

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.

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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