烟蒂 (yān dì) — cigarette butt; cigarette end

Definition

The butt of a cigarette, what's left after smoking. A common public-littering issue in China — note that 烟 alone means 'smoke/cigarette', not 'butt'.

noun

cigarette buttcigarette end

Measure word · 个

烟蒂。
Tā suí shǒu bǎ yān dì rēng zài dì shàng.
He casually threw the cigarette butt on the ground.
烟蒂。
Qǐng bú yào luàn diū yān dì.
Please don't litter cigarette butts.
烟蒂，。
Dì shàng yǒu hěn duō yān dì, hěn bú wèi shēng.
There are a lot of cigarette butts on the ground; it's very unhygienic.

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.

烟yāncigarette

蒂dìremaining end

烟 names the cigarette and 蒂 its remaining end, together giving a cigarette butt.

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 煙; 烟 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 烟 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (烟) it is 煙; in others it is 菸.

火垔煙

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

垔

垔yīn煙yān

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

This story is about the traditional form 煙, not the simplified 烟. It pairs 火, fire, with 垔, which gives the sound.

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

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

帝

Same sound today

The top 艸 marks a plant, and the lower 帝 gives the sound.

Appears in