油井 (yóu jǐng) — oil well | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

oil well

Measure word · 口

Examples

油井。
Zhè ge yóu jǐng měi nián shēng chǎn dà liàng yuán yóu.
This oil well produces a large amount of crude oil every year.
油井。
Tā men zài shā mò lǐ fā xiàn le yí gè xīn yóu jǐng.
They discovered a new oil well in the desert.
油井。
Gōng rén zhèng zài wéi hù nà kǒu yóu jǐng.
The workers are maintaining that oil well.

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.

油 names the substance extracted, 井 names the shaft; together they denote an oil well.

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.

氵由油

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

由yóu油yóu

Same sound today

油 is built from 氵, a water part, and 由, which supplies the sound.

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

The shape of 井 draws a square well with supports on four sides.

Appears in

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