闷气 (mēn qì) — stuffy (airless, lacking ventilation) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

adjective

stuffy (airless, lacking ventilation)

Examples

闷气，。
Zhè ge fáng jiān tài mēn qì le, kuài kāi chuāng ba.
This room is too stuffy; open the window quickly.
闷气，。
Dì tiě lǐ hěn mēn qì, wǒ yǒu diǎn tóu yūn.
The subway is very stuffy; I feel a bit dizzy.
，闷气。
Xià tiān bù kāi kōng tiáo de huà, wū lǐ huì tè bié mēn qì.
If you don't turn on the air conditioner in summer, the room will be especially stuffy.

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.

闷 (stuffy) describes 气 (air), giving a sense of stuffiness.

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 悶; 闷 is its simplified writing.

門心悶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

門

門mén悶mēn

Same sound today

The traditional form 悶 has 門 as a sound part and 心 as a meaning part; the simplified 闷 is a later shorthand.

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

气qì氣qì

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

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