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密封 (mì fēng) — to seal up

Definition

密封 (mìfēng) means 'to seal airtight' — used for containers and packaging. 封闭 is for sealing off an area or closing down a business; 封锁 is for blockades and lockdowns.

verb
to seal up
Easily confused

Examples

  • 密封。
    Qǐng bǎ píng zi mì fēng hǎo.
    Please seal the bottle well.
  • 密封。
    Zhè ge xiāng zi yào mì fēng jǐn.
    This box needs to be sealed tightly.
  • 密封。
    Tā yòng jiāo shuǐ mì fēng le xìn fēng.
    He sealed the envelope with glue.

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.

密mìtight
封fēngseal

密 means tight and 封 means seal, so the word pictures sealing something tightly.

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
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
宓
宓mì密mì
Same sound today

密 pairs 山 (mountain) with 宓 (mì), which gives the pronunciation, to picture something hidden in the mountains, hence secret.

Open 密 →

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tǔearth
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丰
丰fēng封fēng
Same sound today

The shape 封 is 丰 plus 土 (earth) plus 寸 (hand); 丰 was originally drawn as a tree seedling.

Open 封 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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