月球 (yuè qiú) — the moon (celestial body) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

月球 is the scientific/formal name for the moon as a celestial body. Use 月亮 in everyday speech; 月 by itself also means 'month'.

noun

the moon (celestial body)

Measure word · 个

Examples

月球。
Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū yuè qiú de biǎo miàn.
Scientists are studying the surface of the moon.
月球。
yuè qiú Shàng méi yǒu kōng qì hé shuǐ.
There is no air or water on the moon.
，月球。
Cóng dì qiú shàng kàn, yuè qiú de dà xiǎo huì biàn huà.
Seen from Earth, the size of the moon changes.

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.

月 names the moon, and 球 names a sphere, so the word denotes the moon as a celestial body.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

月 was drawn as a crescent moon, with the curved outline showing the moon’s shape.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

求

求qiú球qiú

Same sound today

球 is built from 玉, meaning jade, and 求, which gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Sky & Space

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