采石 (cǎi shí) — to quarry stone

Definition

采石 (cǎishí) means to extract or quarry stone — the mining-style verb for cutting rock from a mountain or pit. As a verb-object compound, it can also be split apart (采…石) when a modifier sits between the two characters.

verb
to quarry stone

Examples

  • 采石。
    Gōng rén men měi tiān zài shān shàng cǎi shí.
    The workers quarry stone on the mountain every day.
  • 采石。
    Zhè ge cūn zi yǐ qián kào cǎi shí wéi shēng.
    This village used to make a living by quarrying stone.
  • 。
    Tā men cǎi le yí gè yuè de shí cái wán chéng gōng chéng.
    They quarried stone for a whole month before finishing the project.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

采cǎigather
石shístone

采 describes taking out and 石 the stone, so 采石 means quarrying.

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 採; 采 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 采 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (采访, 采购) it is 採; in others it is 采.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
采
采cǎi採cǎi
Same sound today

The traditional form 採 combines 扌 (hand) with 采, which gives the sound and means to pick.

Open 采 →

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.

Open 石 →

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