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香水 (xiāng shuǐ) — perfume, cologne

Definition

香水 is the bottled fragrance product (perfume/cologne) you buy and wear — a countable thing, not a scent in the air. 芬芳 is the fragrance itself; 香料 refers to the raw aromatic ingredients.

noun
perfumecologne
Measure word · 瓶

Examples

  • 香水。
    Wǒ mǎi le yì píng xiāng shuǐ sòng gěi tā.
    I bought a bottle of perfume and gave it to her.
  • 香水。
    Zhè píng xiāng shuǐ wèi dào hěn dàn.
    This bottle of perfume has a light scent.
  • 香水？
    Nǐ yòng de xiāng shuǐ shì shén me pái zi?
    What brand of perfume do you use?

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.

香xiāngfragrant
水shuǐwater

香水 uses 香 (fragrant) and 水 (water) to name a scented liquid.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

香's early form paired 黍 (glutinous millet) with 口 (mouth), perhaps showing millet drink being taken in or offered.

Open 香 →

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Toiletries & Cosmetics5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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