水体 (shuǐ tǐ) — body of water | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

body of water

水体。
Zhè ge shuǐ tǐ de miàn jī hěn dà.
This body of water is very large in area.
水体。
Bǎo hù shuǐ tǐ de shēng tài huán jìng fēi cháng zhòng yào.
Protecting the ecological environment of a body of water is very important.
水体。
Tā men zài zhè ge shuǐ tǐ lǐ fā xiàn le xīn de yú lèi.
They discovered new fish species in this body of water.

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.

水 means water and 体 means body: a body of water.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

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 體; 体 is its simplified writing.

骨豊體

Meaning part形符xíngfú

骨骨gǔbone

Sound part声符shēngfú

豊

豊lǐ體tǐ

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 體 pairs 骨 (bone) with 豊 as a sound part; this note is about 體, not about the parts of 体.