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铜矿 (tóng kuàng) — copper mine; copper ore

Definition

noun
copper minecopper ore
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 铜矿。
    Zhè ge dì qū de tóng kuàng zī yuán hěn fēng fù.
    The copper mine resources in this region are very abundant.
  • 铜矿。
    Gōng rén men zài wā zhè zuò tóng kuàng.
    The workers are digging in this copper mine.
  • 铜矿。
    Zhè lǐ fā xiàn le yí zuò xīn de tóng kuàng.
    A new copper mine was discovered here.

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.

铜tóngcopper
矿kuàngmine or ore

铜 and 矿 combine as copper ore or a copper mine.

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 銅; 铜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
同
同tóng銅tóng
Same sound today

The traditional form 銅 pairs 金 (metal) with 同 as the sound part; the simplified 铜 is a shorthand.

Open 铜 →

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 礦; 矿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shístone
Sound part声符shēngfú
廣
廣guǎng礦kuàng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 礦 shows 石, meaning stone, beside 廣, which gives the sound. The simplified 矿 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 矿 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6

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