砂石 (shā shí) — sandstone; sand and gravel; aggregate (for construction)

Definition

noun
sandstonesand and gravelaggregate (for construction)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 砂石。
    Zhè kuài shā shí shì cóng shān shàng cǎi lái de.
    This piece of sandstone was quarried from the mountain.
  • 砂石。
    Gōng dì xū yào dà liàng shā shí lái pū lù.
    The construction site needs a lot of aggregate to pave the road.
  • 砂石。
    Hé biān de shā shí bèi shuǐ chōng dé yòu yuán yòu huá.
    The sand and gravel by the river have been washed smooth by the water.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

砂shāsand
石shístone

砂 gives sand and 石 gives stone, naming a mixture of sandy and stony material.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shístone
Sound part声符shēngfú
少
沙shā砂shā
Same sound today

砂 pairs 石 (stone) with 少, whose full form is 沙, as its sound part. It was first a variant of 沙, which showed sand along a riverbank.

Open 砂 →

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

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Open 石 →

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