着色剂 (zhuó sè jì) — coloring agent; colorant

Definition

noun
coloring agentcolorant

Examples

  • 着色剂。
    Zhè zhǒng shí pǐn bù hán rèn hé rén gōng zhuó sè jì.
    This food does not contain any artificial coloring agents.
  • 着色剂。
    Dàn gāo zhōng shǐ yòng le tiān rán zhuó sè jì.
    Natural coloring agents are used in the cake.
  • 着色剂。
    Cǎi zhuāng chǎn pǐn lǐ tiān jiā le duō zhǒng zhuó sè jì.
    Various coloring agents are added to cosmetic products.

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.

着色color
着zheapply色sècolor
动宾Verb + object
剂jìagent

着色 means to apply color, and 剂 names the substance that does it.

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 著; 着 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě著zháo
Same sound today

The traditional form 著 puts 艸 (grass; plant) above 者, which gives the sound; the simplified 着 is a later shorthand.

Open 着 →

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

  • 爪爪zhuǎclaw; hand
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

色 pairs 爪 (a hand) with 卩 (a kneeling person), showing a hand pressing down on the kneeling person.

Open 色 →

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 劑; 剂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刂Written in full as刀dāo
Sound part声符shēngfú
齊
齊qí劑jì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 劑, 齊 gives the sound and 刂 (刀, a knife) shows the meaning. The simplified 剂 is a later shorthand.

Open 剂 →

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