氢气 (qīng qì) — hydrogen | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

hydrogen

Examples

氢气。
qīng qì Shì yì zhǒng hěn qīng de qì tǐ.
Hydrogen is a very light gas.
氢气。
Shuǐ shì yóu qīng qì hé yǎng qì zǔ chéng de.
Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen.
氢气。
Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū rú hé lì yòng qīng qì zuò wéi néng yuán.
Scientists are researching how to use hydrogen as an energy source.

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.

氢qīnghydrogen

“氢” names hydrogen and “气” means gas, giving hydrogen 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 氫; 氢 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

气气qìair; gas

Sound part声符shēngfú

輕

輕qīng氫qīng

Same sound today

The traditional form 氫 combines 气 (air; gas) with 輕, which gives the pronunciation qīng; the simplified 氢 is a later shorthand.

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

Physics & Chemistry

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