威士忌酒 (wēi shì jì jiǔ) — whiskey

Definition

noun

whiskey

Measure word · 瓶

威士忌酒。
Tā xǐ huan hē wēi shì jì jiǔ.
He likes to drink whiskey.
威士忌酒。
Zhè wēi shì jì jiǔ wèi dào hěn hǎo.
This whiskey tastes great.
威士忌酒。
Qǐng gěi wǒ yì bēi wēi shì jì jiǔ jiā diǎn bīng.
Please give me a glass of whiskey with some ice.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

戌女威

威 is made by combining 戌 and 女.

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

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.

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

己心忌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

己

Same sound today

忌 combines 己, which gives the sound, with 心, the heart, as the part connected to the meaning.

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

酉

酉yǒu酒jiǔ

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

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Appears in