臭气 (chòu qì) — stench, stink | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

stenchstink

Examples

臭气。
Zhè ge huà gōng chǎng de chòu qì yǐng xiǎng le zhōu wéi de kōng qì zhì liàng.
The stench from this chemical plant has affected the air quality in the surrounding area.
臭气。
Cè suǒ de chòu qì ràng rén nán yǐ rěn shòu.
The stench from the toilet is unbearable.
臭气。
Zhè gǔ chòu qì shì cóng lā jī chē lǐ chuán chū lái de.
This stink is coming from inside the garbage truck.

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.

臭 describes the quality of 气, so the word means foul air or a stench.

Characters in this word

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

犬自臭

犬犬quǎndog
自自zìnose

臭 combines 自 (nose) and 犬 (dog), referring to a dog's strong sense of smell; it originally meant 'to smell'.

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

气qì氣qì

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

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