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液晶 (yè jīng) — liquid crystal

Definition

液晶 (yèjīng) is a technical term for 'liquid crystal' — the state of matter used in LCD screens, not a container of liquid like 液体, and not the natural mineral crystal 水晶.

noun
liquid crystal

Examples

  • 液晶。
    Zhè tái diàn nǎo de yè jīng píng mù xiǎn shì xiào guǒ hěn hǎo.
    This computer's LCD screen has a very good display quality.
  • 液晶。
    yè jīng Xiǎn shì qì bǐ chuán tǒng xiǎn shì qì gèng báo gèng shěng diàn.
    LCD monitors are thinner and more energy-efficient than traditional monitors.
  • 液晶。
    yè jīng Jì shù xiàn zài guǎng fàn yìng yòng yú diàn shì hé shǒu jī píng mù.
    Liquid crystal technology is now widely used in TV and mobile phone screens.

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.

液yèliquid
晶jīngcrystal

液 “liquid” describes the state of 晶 “crystal”.

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
夜
夜yè液yè
Same sound today

The left side 氵 is water, and the right side 夜 gives the sound; together they form 液, a liquid, like water.

Open 液 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

晶 is drawn as three suns placed together, giving a picture of bright light.

Open 晶 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Materials & SubstancesTechnology & Engineering

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