冰水 (bīng shuǐ) — ice water | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

ice water

Measure word · 杯

Examples

，冰水。
Xià tiān de shí hou, wǒ xǐ huan hē bīng shuǐ.
In summer, I like to drink ice water.
，冰水。
Fú wù yuán, qǐng gěi wǒ yì bēi bīng shuǐ.
Waiter, please give me a glass of ice water.
冰水，。
Zhè bēi bīng shuǐ tài liáng le, wǒ hē bù liǎo.
This glass of ice water is too cold, I can't drink it.

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.

冰 means ice and 水 means water, together giving ice water.

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.

冫水冰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

冫

仌bīng冰bīng

Same sound today

冰 adds 水 (water) to 冫, the short form of 仌; 冫 gives the sound, and 水 shows the meaning.

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

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