氮气 (dàn qì) — nitrogen (chemical element N₂) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

nitrogen (chemical element N₂)

Examples

氮气。
Kōng qì zhōng dà bù fen shì dàn qì.
Most of the air is nitrogen.
氮气。
Hàn jiē shí yào yòng dàn qì bǎo hù jīn shǔ.
When welding, you need to use nitrogen to protect the metal.
氮气。
Shí pǐn bāo zhuāng lǐ cháng chōng rù dàn qì lái bǎo xiān.
Food packaging is often filled with nitrogen to keep it fresh.

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.

氮dànnitrogen

氮 names nitrogen, and 气 names gas, so the word means nitrogen 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

气气qìgas

Sound part声符shēngfú

淡

淡dàn氮dàn

Same sound today

氮 has 气, meaning gas, and 淡, meaning dilute. 淡 shows how it is pronounced, and 气 shows that it names a gas.

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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