柠檬汁 (níng méng zhī) — lemon juice

Definition

noun
lemon juice
Measure word · 杯

Examples

  • 柠檬汁。
    Wǒ měi tiān zǎo shàng hē yì bēi níng méng zhī.
    I drink a glass of lemon juice every morning.
  • 柠檬汁。
    Wǒ zài chá lǐ jiā le yì diǎn níng méng zhī.
    I added a little lemon juice to my tea.
  • 柠檬汁。
    Xīn xiān níng méng zhī bǐ píng zhuāng de hǎo hē duō le.
    Fresh lemon juice tastes much better than bottled ones.

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.

柠檬lemon
柠níng檬méng
汁zhījuice

柠檬 (lemon) and 汁 (juice) together mean lemon juice.

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 檸; 柠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
寧
寧níng檸
Same sound today

The traditional form 檸 combines 木 (wood) with 寧, which supplies the sound; the simplified 柠 is a later shortened shape.

Open 柠 →

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mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
蒙
蒙méng檬
Same sound today

檬 pairs 木, a tree, with 蒙 for its sound.

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
十
十shí汁zhī(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

汁 has 氵, a form of 水, on the left and 十 on the right. The water part shows it is about a liquid, and 十 gives the sound.

Open 汁 →
Appears in
BeveragesFruits

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.