废液 (fèi yè) — waste liquid

Definition

noun
waste liquid

Examples

  • 废液。
    Gōng chǎng bì xū chǔ lǐ fèi yè cái néng pái fàng.
    The factory must treat the waste liquid before discharging it.
  • 废液。
    Zhè zhǒng fèi yè hán yǒu yǒu dú huà xué wù zhì.
    This kind of waste liquid contains toxic chemicals.
  • 废液。
    Shí yàn shì de fèi yè yào fēn lèi shōu jí.
    The waste liquid from the laboratory should be collected separately.

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.

废fèiwaste
液yèliquid

废 (waste) and 液 (liquid) combine to mean waste liquid.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 廢; 废 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎnghouse
Sound part声符shēngfú
發
發fā廢fèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 廢 shows 广 as a house and 發 as the sound.

Open 废 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
夜
夜yè液yè
Same sound today

The left side 氵 is water, and the right side 夜 gives the sound; together they form 液, a liquid, like water.

Open 液 →

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