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材料 (cái liào) — (raw) material; substance used to make something; data; information (for research, study, etc.); (figurative) a person with the potential or natural talent for a certain role

Definition

Material in three senses: physical stuff for making things, data/information for research (overlaps with 资料, but 资料 leans toward documents/profiles), and a figurative 'has the potential to be' (e.g., 当老师的材料).

noun
(raw) materialsubstance used to make somethingdatainformation (for research, study, etc.)(figurative) a person with the potential or natural talent for a certain role
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 材料。
    Zhè zhǒng cái liào hěn jiē shi.
    This kind of material is very sturdy.
  • 材料。
    Wǒ shōu jí le hěn duō yán jiū cái liào.
    I have collected a lot of research material.
  • 材料。
    Tā zhēn shì dāng lǎo shī de cái liào.
    He really is teacher material.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

材cáimaterial
料liàostuff

材 means material, and 料 also means stuff or ingredient, so together they name raw material.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
才
才cái材cái
Same sound today

材 combines 木, wood, with 才, cái, as its sound part.

Open 材 →

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

料 combines 米 (rice) with 斗 (a dipper), showing rice being measured or gauged.

Open 料 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Materials & Substances5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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