油管 (yóu guǎn) — oil pipe; oil tube (physical conduit); (interne… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'oil pipe / tube' (a physical conduit), but learners will hear it far more often as Chinese internet slang for YouTube, pronounced quickly as yóuguǎn.

noun

oil pipeoil tube (physical conduit)(internet slang) YouTube

Measure word · 根

Examples

油管。
Zhè tiáo yóu guǎn yǐ jīng yòng le shí nián le.
This oil pipe has been used for ten years.
油管。
Wǒ zài yóu guǎn shàng kàn le yí gè hěn yǒu qù de shì pín.
I watched a very interesting video on YouTube.
油管。
Hěn duō nián qīng rén xǐ huan zài yóu guǎn xué wài yǔ.
Many young people like to learn foreign languages on YouTube.

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 refers to oil and 管 to tube, giving the sense of an oil pipe.

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

竹官管

Meaning part形符xíngfú

竹竹zhúbamboo

Sound part声符shēngfú

官

官guān管guǎn

Same sound today

管 has 竹 (bamboo) on top to show it relates to bamboo, and 官 gives its sound.

Appears in

Computers & Internet Miscellaneous Objects

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