电解 (diàn jiě) — electrolysis

Definition

noun
electrolysis

Examples

  • 电解。
    diàn jiě Shì yì zhǒng huà xué guò chéng.
    Electrolysis is a chemical process.
  • 电解。
    Shuǐ tōng guò diàn jiě kě yǐ chǎn shēng qīng qì hé yǎng qì.
    Water can produce hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis.
  • 电解。
    diàn jiě Zài gōng yè zhōng yìng yòng fēi cháng guǎng fàn.
    Electrolysis is very widely used in industry.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

电diànelectricity
解jiědecompose

电 means 'electricity', and 解 means 'decompose': electricity decomposes a substance.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 電; 电 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn電diàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 電, 雨 (rain) sits with 申, read shēn and meaning lightning.

Open 电 →

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

解 shows 刀 (knife) separating 角 (horn) from 牛 (cow), giving the picture of cutting up an ox.

Open 解 →

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