油矿 (yóu kuàng) — oil deposit, oil field

Definition

noun
oil depositoil field
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 油矿。
    Zhè ge dì qū de yóu kuàng chǔ liàng fēi cháng fēng fù.
    The oil reserves in this region are very abundant.
  • 油矿。
    Tā men zhèng zài kāi fā xīn de yóu kuàng.
    They are developing new oil fields.
  • 油矿。
    Guó jiā tóu zī jiàn shè le duō gè dà xíng yóu kuàng.
    The state has invested in constructing several large oil fields.

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yóuoil
矿kuàngdeposit

油 names oil and 矿 names a mineral deposit, together denoting an oil field.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 礦; 矿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shístone
Sound part声符shēngfú
廣
廣guǎng礦kuàng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 礦 shows 石, meaning stone, beside 廣, which gives the sound. The simplified 矿 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 矿 →

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