润滑油 (rùn huá yóu) — lubricating oil

Definition

noun

lubricating oil

Examples

润滑油。
Zhè tái jī qì xū yào jiā yì diǎn rùn huá yóu.
This machine needs a little lubricating oil.
润滑油。
Wǒ men měi gè yuè dōu yào gēng huàn rùn huá yóu.
We need to replace the lubricating oil every month.
润滑油。
Qǐng bǎ rùn huá yóu jiā dào fā dòng jī lǐ.
Please add the lubricating oil into the engine.

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.

润滑lubricate

润rùnmoisten滑huásmooth

联合Coordinate

油yóuoil

润 means moistening and 滑 means smooth; 油 is oil, so the word names oil that makes things smooth.

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 潤; 润 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

閏

閏rùn潤rùn

Same sound today

The traditional form 潤 pairs 水 (water) with 閏, which gives the sound and means surplus, to show an ample amount of moisture; the simplified 润 is a later abbreviation.

Open 润 →

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

骨

骨gǔ滑huá

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

滑 pairs 水 (water) with 骨, which gives the sound.

Open 滑 →

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

氵由油