丁烷 (dīng wán) — butane (a flammable hydrocarbon gas, used as fu…

Definition

noun

butane (a flammable hydrocarbon gas, used as fuel)

丁烷。
Dǎ huǒ jī lǐ zhuāng de shì dīng wán.
Lighters are filled with butane.
丁烷。
dīng wán Shì yì zhǒng cháng jiàn de rán liào.
Butane is a common fuel.
丁烷。
Hù wài lú jù tōng cháng shǐ yòng dīng wán.
Outdoor stoves usually use butane.

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.

丁dīngfour-carbon

丁 marks the four-carbon chain, and 烷 marks the saturated hydrocarbon, naming butane.

Characters in this word

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

丁 may picture a nail head, a person's head, a square city wall, or a square star pattern.

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

火完烷

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

完

Same sound today

The left part 火 is used in names for hydrocarbons, and the right part 完 gives the sound.