冰雹 (bīng báo) — hail (weather phenomenon); hailstone

Definition

noun

hail (weather phenomenon)hailstone

Measure word · 场, 粒

冰雹。
Zuó tiān xià wǔ xià le yì chǎng bīng báo.
Yesterday afternoon there was a hailstorm.
冰雹。
Zhè xiē bīng báo xiàng pīng pāng qiú yí yàng dà.
These hailstones are as big as ping-pong balls.
冰雹。
Zá zài wū dǐng shàng de bīng báo shēng yīn hěn dà.
The hailstones hitting the roof made a loud noise.

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.

雹báohail

冰 indicates the hard icy material, and 雹 names the falling hail, together meaning hailstones.

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.

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

雨包雹

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

包

Same sound today

雹 pairs 雨 (rain) with 包, which gives the sound.

Appears in