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重量 (zhòng liàng) — weight

Definition

重量 is the general, concrete word for the physical weight of something. 体重 is specifically body weight; 分量 emphasizes the amount or figurative weight/influence of something.

noun
weight
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 重量。
    Zhè ge bāo guǒ de zhòng liàng hěn qīng.
    This package's weight is very light.
  • 重量？
    Nǐ néng bāng wǒ chēng yí xià zhòng liàng ma?
    Can you help me weigh it?
  • 重量。
    Wǒ de xíng li zhòng liàng chāo guò le èr shí gōng jīn.
    The weight of my luggage exceeded twenty kilograms.

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.

重zhòngheavy
量liángquantity

重量 joins 重 'heavy' and 量 'quantity' to mean the quantity of heaviness.

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
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng重zhòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

Open 重 →

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

  • 日日rìsun
  • 東東dōngbag; east

量 has 日 (sun) over 東 (bag; east). Some explanations suggest measuring under the sun or the sun rising in the east, but the exact origin is unclear.

Open 量 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Units & Measurement

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