薄荷油 (bò he yóu) — peppermint oil | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

peppermint oil

Examples

薄荷油。
Wǒ zài rè shuǐ lǐ jiā le jǐ dī bò he yóu.
I added a few drops of peppermint oil to the hot water.
薄荷油。
bò he yóu Kě yǐ huǎn jiě tóu tòng hé bí sè.
Peppermint oil can relieve headaches and nasal congestion.
薄荷油。
Tā mǎi le yì píng chún bò he yóu yòng lái àn mó.
She bought a bottle of pure peppermint oil for massage.

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.

薄荷mint

薄荷 (mint) and 油 (oil) combine to mean oil taken from mint.

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.

艹溥薄

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

溥

溥pǔ薄báo

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

薄 combines 艹, a grass part, with 溥 as the sound part.

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

艸艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

何

何hé荷hé

Same sound today

荷 has 艸, the grass/plant form, to show a plant, and 何 to give the sound.

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

氵由油

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

由yóu油yóu

Same sound today

油 is built from 氵, a water part, and 由, which supplies the sound.

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