核爆 (hé bào) — nuclear explosion | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

nuclear explosion

Measure word · 次

核爆。
Nà cì hé bào zào chéng le hěn duō pò huài.
That nuclear explosion caused a lot of damage.
核爆。
Rén men dōu hěn hài pà hé bào de hòu guǒ.
People are very afraid of the consequences of a nuclear explosion.
核爆。
Zhè bù diàn yǐng jiǎng de shì hé bào hòu de gù shi.
This movie tells the story after a nuclear explosion.

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.

核hénuclear

爆bàoexplosion

核 refers to nuclear power or a nucleus, and 爆 means explosion, so the sense is nuclear explosion.

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.

木亥核

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

亥

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

核 pairs 木, a tree, with 亥 to give its sound; it originally named a kind of tree, and its later meanings are borrowed.

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

火暴爆

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

暴

Same sound today

爆 combines 火 (fire) with 暴, which supplies the sound and also originally meant violence.

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