黄油 (huáng yóu) — butter (dairy product); grease (lubricant); tal…

Definition

Literally 'yellow oil', 黄油 most commonly means the dairy spread 'butter'. The sense 'grease/tallow' is a separate, more technical usage (lubricants, animal fat rendered for candles).

noun

butter (dairy product)grease (lubricant)tallow (animal fat)

Measure word · 盒

Examples

黄油。
Wǒ měi tiān zǎo shàng chī miàn bāo mǒ huáng yóu.
I eat bread with butter every morning.
黄油。
Zhè zhǒng huáng yóu kě yǐ yòng lái rùn huá jī qì.
This kind of grease can be used to lubricate machinery.
，黄油。
Chuán tǒng shàng, huáng yóu bèi yòng lái zhì zuò là zhú.
Traditionally, tallow was used to make candles.

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.

黄huángyellow

油yóuoil

‘黄’ means yellow and ‘油’ means oil or fat, so they denote a yellow oily substance such as butter.

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 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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

氵由油

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

由yóu油yóu

Same sound today

油 is built from 氵, a water part, and 由, which supplies the sound.

Open 油 →

Appears in