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精炼 (jīng liàn) — to refine; to purify (metal, oil, etc.); to polish; to hone (writing, language, expression)

Definition

精炼 (jīngliàn) is a formal verb meaning 'to refine' in two senses: purifying substances like oil or metal, and polishing language or writing to be more concise and precise.

verb
to refineto purify (metal, oil, etc.)to polishto hone (writing, language, expression)

Examples

  • 精炼。
    Tā men cóng yuán yóu zhōng jīng liàn chū qì yóu.
    They refine gasoline from crude oil.
  • 精炼。
    Zhè piān lùn wén xū yào jìn yí bù jīng liàn yǔ yán.
    This paper needs to further polish the language.
  • 精炼，。
    Tā de yǎn jiǎng jīng guò duō cì jīng liàn, fēi cháng jīng cǎi.
    His speech was refined many times and was very brilliant.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

精jīngfine/essence
炼liànsmelt/refine

精 gives the idea of fineness or essence, and 炼 gives the idea of smelting and purifying, so together they describe making metal, oil, or language pure and capable.

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
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng精jīng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

精 pairs 米 (rice) with 青, which gives the sound; the character originally meant polished rice.

Open 精 →

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 煉; 炼 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 炼 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 煉; in others (锻炼) it is 鍊.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
柬
柬jiǎn煉liàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 煉 pairs 火 (fire) with 柬 as its sound part. The simplified 炼 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical component.

Open 炼 →
Appears in
Industry & Manufacturing

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