磨砂玻璃 (mó shā bō li) — frosted glass; ground glass | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Translucent glass whose surface has been roughened so it scatters light and blocks clear vision — used for privacy in bathrooms, offices, and doors. 磨砂 is the rough/frosted finish; 玻璃 is 'glass'.

noun

frosted glassground glass

Measure word · 块

Examples

磨砂玻璃，。
Yù shì de mén yòng le mó shā bō li, wài miàn kàn bú jiàn lǐ miàn.
The bathroom door uses frosted glass so you can't see inside from outside.
磨砂玻璃。
Zhè zhǒng mó shā bō li jì néng tòu guāng yòu néng bǎo hù yǐn sī.
This kind of frosted glass both lets light through and protects privacy.
磨砂玻璃。
Bàn gōng shì de gé duàn shì mó shā bō li zuò de.
The office partitions are made of frosted glass.

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.

磨砂sanding

磨mógrind砂shāsand

动宾Verb + object

玻璃glass

玻bō璃lí

'磨砂' describes grinding with abrasive and '玻璃' glass, together meaning frosted glass.

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shírock

Sound part声符shēngfú

靡

靡mí磨mó

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

磨 combines 石, showing rock, with 靡 for the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

石少砂

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

王离璃

Meaning part形符xíngfú

王Written in full as玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

离

Same sound today

In 璃, the left side 王 is jade, written in full as 玉, and the right side 离 gives the sound lí.

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