矿业 (kuàng yè) — mining industry

Definition

noun
mining industry
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 矿业。
    Zhè ge dì qū de kuàng yè fā zhǎn hěn kuài.
    The mining industry in this region is developing rapidly.
  • 矿业。
    Tā zài kuàng yè gōng sī gōng zuò le shí nián.
    He has worked at a mining company for ten years.
  • 矿业。
    kuàng yè Duì dāng dì jīng jì gòng xiàn hěn dà.
    The mining industry contributes greatly to the local economy.

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.

矿kuàngmine/ore
业yèindustry

矿 refers to mines or ores and 业 refers to industry, so the word names the mining industry.

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 礦; 矿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shístone
Sound part声符shēngfú
廣
廣guǎng礦kuàng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 礦 shows 石, meaning stone, beside 廣, which gives the sound. The simplified 矿 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 矿 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 業; 业 is its simplified writing.

  • 丵丵zhuóchisel
  • 大大dàperson; big

The traditional 業 is explained as a picture of a beam from which bells and chimes hang, or as a person lifting that beam. The simplified 业 is a shorthand, not the original shape.

Open 业 →

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