氯气 (lǜ qì) — chlorine | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

chlorine

Examples

氯气。
lǜ qì Shì yì zhǒng zhòng yào de gōng yè qì tǐ.
Chlorine is an important industrial gas.
氯气。
Yóu yǒng chí lǐ jiā le lǜ qì lái xiāo dú.
Chlorine is added to swimming pools to disinfect.
氯气。
lǜ qì Yǒu hěn qiáng de cì jī xìng qì wèi.
Chlorine has a strong pungent smell.

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.

氯lǜchlorine

The 氯 part names chlorine, and 气 marks the gaseous form.

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

彔

彔lù氯lǜ

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

氯 pairs 气 (gas) with 彔, which gives the sound; 彔 is also a shortened form of a character meaning green.

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

Materials & Substances Physics & Chemistry

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