甲苯 (jiǎ běn) — toluene (methylbenzene) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

toluene (methylbenzene)

Examples

甲苯。
jiǎ běn Shì yì zhǒng zhòng yào de huà gōng yuán liào.
Toluene is an important chemical raw material.
甲苯。
Shí yàn shì lǐ cháng yòng jiǎ běn zuò wéi róng jì.
Toluene is often used as a solvent in laboratories.
甲苯。
Shǐ yòng jiǎ běn shí yào zhù yì tōng fēng.
When using toluene, pay attention to ventilation.

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.

苯běnbenzene

甲 marks methyl and 苯 marks benzene, so the name is methylbenzene.

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.

艹本苯

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

本

Same sound today

The top part 艹 relates to plants, and the bottom part 本 shows the pronunciation.

Appears in

Physics & Chemistry

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