油墨 (yóu mò) — printing ink

Definition

noun
printing ink

Examples

  • 油墨,。
    Zhè zhǒng yóu mò de zhì liàng hěn hǎo, yìn shuā xiào guǒ qīng xī.
    This printing ink has good quality, and the print effect is clear.
  • 油墨。
    Gōng chǎng xū yào gòu mǎi yì pī xīn de yóu mò.
    The factory needs to buy a batch of new printing ink.
  • 油墨,。
    yóu mò De yán sè yǒu hěn duō zhǒng, kě yǐ gēn jù xū yào xuǎn zé.
    There are many colors of printing ink, and you can choose according to your needs.

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 points to the oily substance and 墨 to ink, giving printing ink.

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
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.

Open 油 →

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
土土tǔsoil
Sound part声符shēngfú
黑
黑hēi墨mò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

墨 is built from 土 (soil) and 黑, with 黑 giving the sound.

Open 墨 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.