坯子 (pī zǐ) — (noun) blank, semifinished product; the rough shape of an object before final shaping; (noun) (slang) a person with natural potential; promising raw material

Definition

坯子 refers to a rough unfinished blank (e.g. ceramic, brick) before final shaping, and colloquially to a person with raw natural talent — 'promising material' who hasn't been refined yet.

noun
blanksemifinished productthe rough shape of an object before final shaping(slang) a person with natural potentialpromising raw material
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 坯子。
    Zhè ge cí qì pī zǐ hái xū yào dǎ mó.
    This porcelain blank still needs polishing.
  • 坯子，。
    Tā shì gè yǎn yuán pī zǐ, tiān shēng jiù huì yǎn xì.
    He's got natural acting talent; he's born to perform.
  • 坯子。
    Zhè xiē zhuān pī zǐ yào liàng gān hòu cái néng shāo zhì.
    These brick blanks need to dry before being fired.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

坯pīblank
子zǐsuffix

坯 names the rough blank, and 子 helps refer to it as a thing.

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
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丕
丕pī坯pī
Same sound today

坯 puts 土 beside 丕, with 土 giving the meaning and 丕 giving the sound.

Open 坯 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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