镜面 (jìng miàn) — mirror surface; smooth, reflective surface (as in glass, metal, or water)

Definition

镜面 refers to the smooth, reflective surface itself (as in glass, metal, or water) — the physical face of a mirror, not a mirror as an object (镜子). Often used as a modifier, as in 镜面屏幕.

noun
mirror surfacesmoothreflective surface (as in glass, metal, or water)

Examples

  • 镜面，。
    Zhè kuài jìng miàn bō li fēi cháng gān jìng, yì diǎn huī chén dōu méi yǒu.
    This piece of mirror glass is very clean, without a speck of dust.
  • 镜面。
    Hú miàn píng jìng dé xiàng yí miàn jù dà de jìng miàn.
    The lake surface was as calm as a giant mirror.
  • 镜面。
    Zhè tái shǒu jī de jìng miàn píng mù róng yì liú xià zhǐ wén.
    This phone's mirror-finished screen easily collects fingerprints.

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.

镜jìngmirror
面miànsurface

镜 (mirror) and 面 (surface) together give the reflective surface of a mirror.

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 鏡; 镜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
竟
竟jìng鏡jìng
Same sound today

The traditional form 鏡 puts 金, metal, next to 竟 to give the sound. The simplified 镜 is a later shorthand.

Open 镜 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →

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