乙酸 (yǐ suān) — acetic acid | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

acetic acid

乙酸。
yǐ suān Shì cù de zhǔ yào chéng fèn.
Acetic acid is the main component of vinegar.
乙酸。
Shí yàn shì lǐ cháng yòng yǐ suān zuò huà xué shí yàn.
Acetic acid is often used for chemistry experiments in the lab.
乙酸。
Gōng yè shàng yǐ suān kě yòng yú shēng chǎn sù liào.
Acetic acid can be used to produce plastics in industry.

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.

乙yǐsecond stem

乙 marks the second carbon-chain member and 酸 means acid; together they name acetic acid.

Characters in this word

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

The origin of 乙 is obscure, with old suggestions including a plant trying to sprout, a fish's intestine or gill bone, or flowing water.

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

酉夋酸

Meaning part形符xíngfú

酉酉yǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

夋

夋qūn酸suān

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酸 is built from 酉 and 夋, and 夋 gives the sound.