油漆 (yóu qī) — (noun) paint; lacquer; (verb) to paint; to varnish

Definition

油漆 refers to the paint itself as a substance (the noun) or the act of applying it to a surface. Unlike 画/绘画 (artistic drawing or fine-art painting), 油漆 is for coating walls, furniture, or objects.

noun
paintlacquer
verb
to paintto varnish
Measure word · 层

Examples

  • 油漆。
    Zhè céng yóu qī shuā dé hěn jūn yún.
    This layer of paint was applied very evenly.
  • 油漆。
    Tā zhèng zài yòng shuā zi yóu qī qiáng bì.
    He is painting the wall with a brush.
  • 油漆。
    Zhè zhǒng yóu qī de huán bǎo xìng néng hěn hǎo.
    This type of paint has good environmental performance.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

油yóuoil; oily substance
漆qīlacquer; varnish

油 is an oily substance and 漆 is lacquer; together they refer to paint or varnish, or to painting.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
桼
桼qī漆qī
Same sound today

漆 adds 水 (water) to 桼 (resin used to make varnish), which was the earlier form of the word.

Open 漆 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Materials & Substances

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