陨石 (yǔn shí) — meteorite | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

meteorite

Measure word · 块, 颗

Examples

陨石。
Zhè kuài yǔn shí shì zài nán jí fā xiàn de.
This meteorite was discovered in Antarctica.
陨石。
Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū zhè kē yǔn shí de chéng fèn.
Scientists are studying the composition of this meteorite.
陨石。
Bó wù guǎn lǐ zhǎn shì le yí kuài jù dà de yǔn shí.
The museum displays a huge meteorite.

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.

陨yǔnfalling

“陨” (falling) and “石” (stone) combine to mean a stone that falls from the sky.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Sky & Space

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