尘土 (chén tǔ) — dust | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary word for 'dust' — the same as everyday 灰尘 (huīchén), but more often seen in writing and set phrases like 尘土飞扬.

noun

dust

Examples

尘土。
Lù shang yǒu hěn hòu de yī céng chén tǔ.
There is a thick layer of dust on the road.
尘土，。
Fēng chuī qǐ chén tǔ, ràng rén zhēng bù kāi yǎn jing.
The wind blows up dust, making it hard to keep one's eyes open.
尘土。
Wǒ yòng mā bù bǎ zhuō zi shàng de chén tǔ cā gān jìng le.
I wiped the dust off the table with a cloth.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

尘 and 土 both refer to fine particles, together meaning dust.

Characters in this word

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

小土尘

小小xiǎosmall
土土tǔearth

In 尘, 小 (small) sits above 土 (earth), giving the idea of tiny bits of earth.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

Materials & Substances

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