毒酒 (dú jiǔ) — poisoned liquor | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

poisoned liquor

Measure word · 杯

毒酒。
Tā hē le yì bēi dú jiǔ.
He drank a cup of poisoned liquor.
毒酒。
Zhè píng dú jiǔ bù néng hē.
This bottle of poisoned liquor cannot be drunk.
，毒酒。
Gù shi lǐ, tā hē le dú jiǔ sǐ le.
In the story, he drank the poisoned liquor and died.

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 gives poison, and 酒 gives liquor, so the word means poisoned liquor.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

酉

酉yǒu酒jiǔ

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

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.