活性炭 (huó xìng tàn) — activated carbon

Definition

noun
activated carbon

Examples

  • 活性炭。
    Zhè zhǒng huó xìng tàn néng yǒu xiào qù chú shuǐ zhōng de zá zhì.
    This type of activated carbon can effectively remove impurities from water.
  • 活性炭。
    Xīn mǎi de kōng qì jìng huà qì lǐ zhuāng le hěn duō huó xìng tàn.
    The newly bought air purifier is filled with a lot of activated carbon.
  • 活性炭，。
    huó xìng tàn De xī fù néng lì hěn qiáng, cháng yòng yú fáng dú miàn jù.
    Activated carbon has strong adsorption capacity and is often used in gas masks.

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.

活性active property
活huóactive性xìngproperty
偏正Modifier + head
炭tàncarbon

活 gives active, 性 gives property, and 炭 gives carbon, naming carbon with active properties.

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
𠯑
𠯑𠯑活huó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

活 is built from 氵 (water) and 𠯑, which shows the sound; 𠯑 later changed into 舌.

Open 活 →

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
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
生
生shēng性xìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

性 is built from 忄 (the heart) and 生 (a sound clue). The heart part connects the word to a person's inner nature or quality.

Open 性 →

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
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
岸
岸àn炭tàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

炭 combines 火 (fire) with 岸, which provides the sound. The 火 part connects the character to fire or burning material.

Open 炭 →

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