碎石 (suì shí) — crushed stone; broken stone

Definition

noun

crushed stonebroken stone

Measure word · 块

碎石。
Gōng rén men yòng suì shí pū lù.
Workers use crushed stone to pave roads.
碎石。
Zhè zhǒng suì shí kě yǐ yòng lái zuò hùn níng tǔ.
This kind of crushed stone can be used to make concrete.
碎石。
suì shí Zài jiàn zhù gōng dì hěn cháng jiàn.
Crushed stone is very common on construction sites.

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.

碎 (broken) and 石 (stone) give the idea of stone crushed into pieces.

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.

石卒碎

Meaning part形符xíngfú

石石shístone

Sound part声符shēngfú

卒

卒zú碎suì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

碎 pairs 石 (stone) with 卒, which gives the sound; the stone part is tied to the sense of breaking or smashing.

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.

Appears in