墨水瓶 (mò shuǐ píng) — ink bottle | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

ink bottle

Measure word · 个

墨水瓶。
Zhè ge mò shuǐ píng shì lán sè de.
This ink bottle is blue.
墨水瓶。
Tā bǎ mò shuǐ píng fàng zài zhuō zi shàng le.
He put the ink bottle on the table.
墨水瓶。
Huà huà de shí hou xū yào yòng dào mò shuǐ píng.
When painting, you need to use an ink bottle.

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.

墨水ink

偏正Modifier + head

墨水 means ink, literally ink-water, and 瓶 means bottle, so the whole is an ink bottle.

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.

黑土墨

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔsoil

Sound part声符shēngfú

黑

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

墨 is built from 土 (soil) and 黑, with 黑 giving the sound.

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

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

并瓦瓶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

瓦瓦wǎearthenware

Sound part声符shēngfú

并

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

瓶 uses 瓦 to show an earthenware vessel and 并 for the sound. The original vessel had a long slender neck and narrow mouth.