红宝石 (hóng bǎo shí) — ruby | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

ruby

Measure word · 颗

红宝石。
Tā shēng rì nà tiān shōu dào le yì méi hóng bǎo shí jiè zhi.
She received a ruby ring on her birthday.
红宝石。
Zhè kē hóng bǎo shí de yán sè fēi cháng xiān yàn.
The color of this ruby is very vivid.
红宝石。
Pāi mài huì shàng yǒu yí chuàn hóng bǎo shí xiàng liàn.
There was a string of ruby necklaces at the auction.

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.

宝石precious stone

偏正Modifier + head

红 marks the color, while 宝石 means a precious stone, giving a red precious stone.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 寶; 宝 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 寶 shows 宀 (house), 琡 (jade), and 貝 (cowry), drawn together as treasures in a house.

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.

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