TongTong
Sign in

除草剂 (chú cǎo jì) — weed killer; herbicide

Definition

noun
weed killerherbicide
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 除草剂。
    Nóng mín yòng chú cǎo jì qīng chú tián lǐ de zá cǎo.
    Farmers use weed killer to remove weeds in the fields.
  • 除草剂。
    Zhè zhǒng chú cǎo jì bú huì shāng hài huán jìng.
    This kind of weed killer won't harm the environment.
  • 除草剂。
    Shǐ yòng chú cǎo jì zhī qián yào zǐ xì yuè dú shuō míng shū.
    Before using weed killer, you should carefully read the instructions.

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.

除草remove weeds
除chúremove草cǎoweed
动宾Verb + object
剂jìpreparation

除草 means remove weeds, and 剂 is a preparation, so the word is a weed-killing preparation.

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
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú除chú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

除 is built from 阜 and 余, with 余 giving the sound.

Open 除 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
早
早zǎo草cǎo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

Open 草 →

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 劑; 剂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刂Written in full as刀dāo
Sound part声符shēngfú
齊
齊qí劑jì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 劑, 齊 gives the sound and 刂 (刀, a knife) shows the meaning. The simplified 剂 is a later shorthand.

Open 剂 →
Appears in
Agriculture & Farming

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.