陨石雨 (yǔn shí yǔ) — meteorite shower

Definition

noun

meteorite shower

Measure word · 场

陨石雨。
Zuó wǎn wǒ kàn dào le yì chǎng zhuàng guān de yǔn shí yǔ.
Last night I saw a spectacular meteorite shower.
陨石雨。
Kē xué jiā zài yán jiū yǔn shí yǔ duì dì qiú de yǐng xiǎng.
Scientists are studying the impact of meteorite showers on Earth.
陨石雨。
Zhè chǎng yǔn shí yǔ fā shēng zài piān yuǎn de shā mò dì qū.
This meteorite shower occurred in a remote desert area.

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.

陨石meteorite

偏正Modifier + head

The characters 陨 (falling) and 石 (stone) form 陨石, a falling stone, which then combines with 雨 to mean a shower of meteorites.

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 隕; 陨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

𨸏𨸏𨸏

Sound part声符shēngfú

員

員yuán隕yǔn

Same sound today

The traditional form 隕 combines 𨸏 with the sound component 員; the simplified 陨 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

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

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

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

The shape 雨 is an old picture of a cloud with rain drops falling from it; the top line was added later.