大曲 (dà qū) — a type of fermentation starter (yeast) used in making Chinese hard liquor; hard liquor (baijiu) made with such yeast

Definition

大曲 (dàqū) is a specific fermentation starter culture — a blend of grains and microbes — used to make traditional Chinese baijiu (white liquor). The baijiu brewed with it is often itself called 大曲酒.

noun
a type of fermentation starter (yeast) used in making Chinese hard liquorhard liquor (baijiu) made with such yeast
Measure word · 种
Easily confused

Examples

  • 大曲。
    Zhè zhǒng dà qū shì niàng zào máo tái jiǔ de guān jiàn yuán liào.
    This type of daqu is the key ingredient for brewing Moutai.
  • 大曲，。
    Guì zhōu de dà qū jiǔ wèi dào chún hòu, hěn shòu huān yíng.
    Guizhou's daqu liquor has a mellow flavor and is very popular.
  • 大曲。
    Tā shōu cáng le yì píng wǔ shí nián dài de dà qū.
    He collected a bottle of daqu from the 1950s.

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.

大dàgrand
曲qǔfermentation starter

It names a grand 大 kind of 曲 used to start fermentation for liquor.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

曲 is drawn as a bent object, matching the meaning 'bend'.

Open 曲 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.