柴油 (chái yóu) — diesel fuel | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Diesel fuel, used in trucks, buses, and some cars. 汽油 is the everyday gasoline for regular cars; 燃油 is a broader technical term for petroleum-based engine fuels including both.

noun

diesel fuel

Examples

柴油。
Zhè liàng gōng jiāo chē yòng de shì chái yóu.
This bus uses diesel.
柴油。
Yǒu xiē qì chē shǐ yòng chái yóu ér bú shì qì yóu.
Some cars use diesel instead of gasoline.
柴油。
chái yóu De jià gé bǐ qì yóu guì yì xiē.
Diesel is a bit more expensive than gasoline.

Origin

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.

此木柴

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

此

此cǐ柴chái

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 柴, the lower part 木 shows it is about wood, while the upper part 此 supplies the sound.

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

氵由油

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

由yóu油yóu

Same sound today

油 is built from 氵, a water part, and 由, which supplies the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Energy & Power

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