油膏 (yóu gāo) — ointment, salve | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

ointmentsalve

Examples

油膏。
Yī shēng gěi wǒ kāi le yì guǎn yóu gāo.
The doctor prescribed me a tube of ointment.
油膏。
Zhè zhǒng yóu gāo duì pí fū gān zào hěn yǒu xiào.
This ointment is very effective for dry skin.
油膏。
Tā měi tiān zài shāng kǒu shàng tú yóu gāo.
He applies ointment to the wound every day.

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 supplies the oily quality, and 膏 names the thick paste used as an ointment.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

肉肉ròumeat

Sound part声符shēngfú

高

高gāo膏gào

Same sound today

膏 combines 高 as a sound part with 肉 (meat) as its meaning part.

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