白银 (bái yín) — silver (the precious metal)

Definition

noun
silver (the precious metal)
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 白银。
    Zhè zhǒng bái yín fēi cháng chún jìng.
    This kind of silver is very pure.
  • 白银。
    Tā mǎi le yì tiáo bái yín xiàng liàn.
    He bought a silver necklace.
  • 白银。
    bái yín De jià gé zuì jìn zài shàng zhǎng.
    The price of silver has been rising recently.

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.

白báiwhite
银yínsilver

The 白 (white) quality of 银 (silver) names the bright precious metal.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 銀; 银 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn銀yín
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 銀 has 金, meaning metal, and 艮, used for the sound; the simplified 银 is a shorthand.

Open 银 →

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