明矾 (míng fán) — alum (a chemical compound)

Definition

noun

alum (a chemical compound)

Measure word · 块

明矾。
míng fán Kě yǐ yòng lái jìng huà shuǐ.
Alum can be used to purify water.
，明矾。
Zài zhì zuò dòu fu shí, yǒu rén huì jiā rù shǎo liàng míng fán.
When making tofu, some people add a small amount of alum.
明矾。
míng fán Shì yì zhǒng cháng jiàn de huà xué wù zhì.
Alum is a common chemical substance.

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.

矾fánalum

The 明 bright 矾 is a clear alum.

Characters in this word

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

日月明

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

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

石凡矾

Meaning part形符xíngfú

石石shístone

Sound part声符shēngfú

凡

Same sound today

矾 pairs 石 (stone) with 凡, which gives the sound fán.