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干柴 (gān chái) — dry firewood, kindling

Definition

noun
dry firewoodkindling
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 干柴。
    Tā zhǎo lái yì xiē gān chái shēng huǒ.
    He found some dry firewood to start a fire.
  • 干柴，。
    gān chái Rán shāo dé hěn kuài, shì hé zuò fàn.
    Dry firewood burns quickly and is good for cooking.
  • 干柴，。
    Zhè xiē gān chái hěn gān zào, yòng lái kǎo huǒ zhèng hǎo.
    This dry firewood is very dry, perfect for warming by the fire.

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.

干gāndry
柴cháifirewood

干 gives dry and 柴 gives firewood, so the word names dry wood used for fuel.

Characters in this word

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
此
此cǐ柴chái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 柴, the lower part 木 shows it is about wood, while the upper part 此 supplies the sound.

Open 柴 →
Appears in
Materials & Substances

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