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浓缩 (nóng suō) — to concentrate (a liquid, by reducing volume); to condense, to distill (knowledge, experience, essence)

Definition

Refers to physically reducing volume (juice, liquid) or distilling ideas/experience into a compact form. Pairs with 集中, which focuses attention or effort rather than reducing content.

verb
to concentrate (a liquid, by reducing volume)to condenseto distill (knowledge, experience, essence)

Examples

  • 浓缩。
    Zhè ge gōng chǎng bǎ guǒ zhī nóng suō chéng fěn mò.
    This factory concentrates juice into powder.
  • 浓缩。
    Tā de yǎn jiǎng nóng suō le shí nián de jīng yàn.
    His speech condensed ten years of experience.
  • 浓缩。
    Qǐng gěi wǒ lái yì bēi nóng suō kā fēi.
    Please bring me an espresso.

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.

浓nóngdense
缩suōshrink

浓 (dense) and 缩 (shrink) combine to mean reducing volume so a liquid becomes denser.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 濃; 浓 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
農
農nóng濃nóng
Same sound today

The traditional form 濃 has 氵 as water and 農 as the sound part; this is the form described here.

Open 浓 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 縮; 缩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìstring, thread
Sound part声符shēngfú
宿
宿sù縮suō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 縮 pairs 糸 (string, thread) with 宿, which gives the sound; the simplified 缩 is a shorthand.

Open 缩 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Physics & Chemistry

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