雌黄 (cí huáng) — (noun) orpiment, a yellow mineral used as a pigment; (noun) (literary, from idiom 信口雌黄) groundless criticism or unfounded talk

Definition

Literary noun with two distinct senses: the yellow mineral orpiment (a pigment), and — from the idiom 信口雌黄 — 'groundless talk', i.e. speaking off the cuff and twisting facts.

noun
orpiment, a yellow mineral used as a pigment(literary, from idiom 信口雌黄) groundless criticism or unfounded talk

Examples

  • 雌黄。
    Zhè zhǒng yán liào shì yòng cí huáng zhì chéng de.
    This pigment is made from orpiment.
  • 雌黄，。
    Tā de huà chún shǔ cí huáng, bù kě xiāng xìn.
    His words are pure nonsense, not to be believed.
  • 雌黄，。
    Tā xìn kǒu cí huáng, dé zuì le hěn duō rén.
    He talked recklessly, offending many people.

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.

雌cífemale
黄huángyellow

The 雌 female sense and 黄 yellow sense name the yellow mineral orpiment.

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
隹隹zhuī
Sound part声符shēngfú
此
此cǐ雌cí
Same sound today

雌 is made of 此 and 隹. 此 gives the sound, and 隹 is the part connected to the meaning.

Open 雌 →

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 黃; 黄 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
炗
炗guāng黃huáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 黃 pairs 田 (field) with 炗 (light), which gives the sound; the simplified 黄 is a shorthand and its parts are not historical components.

Open 黄 →

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