甲烷 (jiǎ wán) — methane | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

methane

Examples

甲烷。
jiǎ wán Shì yì zhǒng wú sè wú wèi de qì tǐ.
Methane is a colorless, odorless gas.
甲烷。
Tiān rán qì de zhǔ yào chéng fèn shì jiǎ wán.
The main component of natural gas is methane.
甲烷。
Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū rú hé jiǎn shǎo jiǎ wán pái fàng.
Scientists are studying how to reduce methane emissions.

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.

甲 indicates the first member of the series, and 烷 names the alkane family, giving methane.

Characters in this word

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

甲 is drawn as a hard protective shell, carapace, or scales of an animal, or as armor made of connected plates.

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

火完烷

Meaning part形符xíngfú

火火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

完

完wán烷wán

Same sound today

The left part 火 is used in names for hydrocarbons, and the right part 完 gives the sound.

Appears in

Physics & Chemistry

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