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白葡萄酒 (bái pú táo jiǔ) — white wine (made from grapes)

Definition

noun
white wine (made from grapes)
Measure word · 杯

Examples

  • 白葡萄酒。
    Wǒ xǐ huan hē bái pú táo jiǔ.
    I like to drink white wine.
  • 白葡萄酒。
    Zhè píng bái pú táo jiǔ lái zì fǎ guó.
    This bottle of white wine comes from France.
  • ，白葡萄酒。
    Chī hǎi xiān de shí hou, wǒ jīng cháng pèi yì bēi bái pú táo jiǔ.
    When eating seafood, I often pair it with a glass of white wine.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →

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
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
匍
匍pú葡
Same sound today

葡 is built from 艸 (grass) plus 匍 as the sound part. For the grape meaning, the old explanation also links it to a sprout growing in a field, so the shape points to plants.

Open 葡 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
匋
匋táo萄
Same sound today

The top 艹 marks 萄 as a plant, and 匋 gives its sound. The part 匋 also points to making an earthenware jar, possibly for a plant used to make wine.

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu酒jiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Open 酒 →
Appears in
Alcohol & Tobacco

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