TongTong
Sign in

泔水 (gān shuǐ) — swill, slop, hogwash (kitchen waste)

Definition

泔水 (gānshuǐ) specifically means kitchen waste water and food scraps — the slop or washings from cleaning dishes, pots, and food prep, not industrial wastewater or general refuse. Traditionally used as pig feed.

noun
swillslophogwash (kitchen waste)

Examples

  • 泔水。
    Chú fáng lǐ de gān shuǐ yào měi tiān dào diào.
    The swill in the kitchen needs to be thrown away every day.
  • 泔水。
    Nóng mín yòng gān shuǐ wèi zhū.
    Farmers use swill to feed pigs.
  • 泔水。
    Zhè xiē gān shuǐ bù néng zhí jiē dào jìn hé lǐ.
    This swill cannot be dumped directly into the river.

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.

泔gānslop
水shuǐwater

泔 means slop and 水 means water, giving kitchen slop.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
甘
甘gān泔gān
Same sound today

泔 combines 水, meaning water, with 甘, which gives the sound.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →
Appears in
Cleaning & ChoresMaterials & Substances

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