毒气 (dú qì) — poison gas | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

poison gas

Measure word · 种

Examples

毒气，。
Zhàn chǎng shàng shǐ yòng le dú qì, zào chéng dà liàng shāng wáng.
Poison gas was used on the battlefield, causing heavy casualties.
毒气。
Gōng chǎng xiè lòu de dú qì dǎo zhì fù jìn jū mín jǐn jí shū sàn.
The poison gas leaked from the factory forced nearby residents to evacuate.
毒气。
Fáng dú miàn jù kě yǐ guò lǜ kōng qì zhōng de dú qì.
A gas mask can filter poison gas from the air.

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.

毒dúpoison

毒, poison, specifies the kind of 气, gas.

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

屮屮chèvegetation

Sound part声符shēngfú

毐

毐ǎi毒dú

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

毒 pairs 屮, a plant part, with 毐 as a sound part; this form was used for a poisonous plant.

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

气qì氣qì

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

Military & Defense 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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