活火山 (huó huǒ shān) — active volcano | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An 'active volcano' — currently showing signs of activity or expected to erupt. The compound literally means 'living volcano' (活 = alive), distinguishing it from 死火山 (extinct volcano) and 休眠火山 (dormant volcano).

noun

active volcano

Measure word · 座

Examples

活火山。
Zhè zuò huó huǒ shān yǐ jīng chén shuì le yì bǎi nián.
This active volcano has been dormant for a hundred years.
活火山。
Kē xué jiā zhèng zài jiān cè huó huǒ shān de huó dòng qíng kuàng.
Scientists are monitoring the activity of the active volcano.
活火山。
Fù jìn jū mín yīn wèi huó huǒ shān pēn fā ér jǐn jí chè lí.
Nearby residents evacuated urgently because of the active volcano eruption.

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.

火山volcano

火huǒfire山shānmountain

偏正Modifier + head

活 means active and 火山 means fire mountain, so it names an active volcano.

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.

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

火 is a simple drawing of a fire, with flames shown rising upward.

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

山 shows three mountain peaks side by side.

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