墓室 (mù shì) — coffin chamber; burial vault

Definition

noun
coffin chamberburial vault
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 墓室
    Kǎo gǔ xué jiā zài mù shì zhōng fā xiàn le yì pī zhēn guì de wén wù.
    Archaeologists discovered a batch of precious artifacts in the burial chamber.
  • 墓室
    Zhè zuò gǔ mù de mù shì qiáng bì shàng huà mǎn le bì huà.
    The walls of this ancient tomb's burial chamber are covered in murals.
  • 墓室
    Dào mù zhě wā kāi le yì tiáo tōng xiàng mù shì de tōng dào.
    The tomb raiders dug a tunnel leading to the coffin chamber.

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.

tomb
shìchamber

“墓” (tomb) and “室” (chamber) combine to mean the chamber inside a tomb.

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

墓 combines 土 (earth) and 莫 (sound).

Open 墓 →

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
miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
zhìshì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

室 puts 宀 (roof) over 至, the spot where someone stops, giving the meaning of a house or residence.

Open 室 →

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