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材质 (cái zhì) — material quality, texture (of a material, fabric, surface, etc.)

Definition

材质 refers to the inherent quality or texture of a material (fabric, wood, leather, etc.), not just its outward look like 表面 (surface/appearance).

noun
material qualitytexture (of a material, fabric, surface, etc.)

Examples

  • 材质。
    Zhè zhǒng yī fu de cái zhì hěn róu ruǎn.
    The material of this clothing is very soft.
  • 材质。
    Zhè tào shā fā de cái zhì fēi cháng hǎo.
    The material of this sofa is very good.
  • 材质。
    Jiàn zhù cái liào de cái zhì jué dìng le fáng wū de nài yòng xìng.
    The quality of building materials determines the durability of the house.

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.

材cáimaterial
质zhìquality

材 gives material and 质 gives quality, so the word refers to the quality of a 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 質; 质 is its simplified writing.

  • 斦斦yín
  • 貝貝bèi

The traditional form 質 is made up of 貝 and 斦; this describes 質, not the simplified 质.

Open 质 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Texture & Quality

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