糖霜 (táng shuāng) — icing; frosting (sweet coating for cakes and pa… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

icingfrosting (sweet coating for cakes and pastries)

Measure word · 层

Examples

糖霜。
Dàn gāo shàng pù le yī céng hòu hòu de táng shuāng.
A thick layer of frosting was spread on the cake.
糖霜。
Tā yòng táng shuāng zài bǐng gān shàng huà le xiǎo huā.
She drew small flowers on the cookies with icing.
糖霜，。
Zhè zhǒng táng shuāng tián dù shì zhōng, bú huì tài nì.
This type of frosting has moderate sweetness and isn't too greasy.

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.

霜shuāngfrost

糖 (sugar) describes the frost-like 霜 (frost) coating on cakes.

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.

米唐糖

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

唐

Same sound today

糖 is made from 米 (rice) and 唐, which gives the sound táng.

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

雨相霜

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

相

相xiāng霜shuāng

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

霜 has 雨 (rain) on top for weather and 相 (xiāng) below for the sound.

Appears in

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.