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刺鼻 (cì bí) — pungent, acrid

Definition

A strong, sharp, irritating smell — paint, disinfectant, smoke. Stronger and harsher than just 'strong-smelling'; implies it stings or overwhelms the nose.

adjective
pungentacrid

Examples

  • 刺鼻。
    Zhè ge fáng jiān de qì wèi hěn cì bí.
    The smell in this room is pungent.
  • 刺鼻，。
    Yóu qī de wèi dào tài cì bí le, wǒ shòu bù liǎo.
    The paint smell is too pungent, I can't stand it.
  • 刺鼻。
    Zhè zhǒng xiāo dú shuǐ de qì wèi fēi cháng cì bí.
    The smell of this disinfectant is very pungent.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

刺cìsting
鼻bínose

刺 means sting and 鼻 means nose, so a smell is pungent when it stings the nose.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刂Written in full as刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì刺cì
Same sound today

刺 pairs 刂 (knife) with 朿, which gives the sound; the knife part fits actions like stabbing or pricking.

Open 刺 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
自自zìnose
Sound part声符shēngfú
畀
畀bì鼻bí
Same sound today

鼻 pairs 自, meaning nose, with 畀, which gives the sound.

Open 鼻 →
Appears in
Flavors & SeasoningsSenses

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