蛋清 (dàn qīng) — egg white

Definition

noun
egg white

Examples

  • 蛋清。
    Zuò dàn gāo xū yào bǎ dàn qīng hé dàn huáng fēn kāi.
    To make cake, you need to separate the egg whites from the yolks.
  • 蛋清。
    Bǎ dàn qīng dǎ fā dào yìng xìng fā pāo jiù kě yǐ zuò bǐng gān.
    Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then you can make cookies.
  • 蛋清。
    Tā zài chú fáng bù xiǎo xīn bǎ dàn qīng sǎ le.
    He accidentally spilled the egg white in the kitchen.

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.

蛋dànegg
清qīngwhite part

蛋 names the egg and 清 names its clear white part, giving the coll. term for egg white.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
虫虫chóngsnake, insect
Sound part声符shēngfú
延
延yán蛋dàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 蛋, the lower part 虫 is a snake or insect, and the upper part is a shortened 延 giving the sound for 'egg'.

Open 蛋 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng清qīng
Same sound today

清 has 氵 (water) on the left and 青 on the right to show its sound.

Open 清 →

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