纹理 (wén lǐ) — natural pattern or texture (of wood, stone, ski… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

纹理 refers to the visible pattern or texture in a surface — wood grain, stone veins, skin texture. Translates loosely as both 'grain' and 'veins'; think of the lines/marks a material naturally shows.

noun

natural pattern or texture (of wood, stone, skin, etc.)

Examples

纹理。
Zhè kuài mù tou de wén lǐ hěn piào liang.
The grain of this wood is very beautiful.
纹理。
Dà lǐ shí de wén lǐ fēi cháng dú tè.
The veins in the marble are very unique.
纹理。
Tā de pí fū wén lǐ hěn xì nì.
Her skin texture is very fine.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

纹wénpattern

纹 (pattern) and 理 (grain) combine to mean natural texture.

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 紋; 纹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìthread

Sound part声符shēngfú

文

Same sound today

The traditional form 紋 pairs 糸 (thread) with 文 as the sound part, giving the sense of a line of thread; this note is about 紋, not 纹.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

里

里lǐ理lǐ

Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Appears in

Texture & Quality

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