烧瓶 (shāo píng) — laboratory flask (e.g., Erlenmeyer, round-botto…

Definition

noun

laboratory flask (e.g., Erlenmeyer, round-bottom)

Measure word · 个

烧瓶。
Zuò zhè ge shí yàn xū yào yì zhī shāo píng.
You need a flask to do this experiment.
烧瓶。
Tā bǎ shāo píng fàng zài jiǔ jīng dēng shàng jiā rè.
She placed the flask on the alcohol lamp to heat it.
烧瓶，。
Zhè zhī shāo píng de píng jǐng tài cháng le, bù hǎo qīng xǐ.
The neck of this flask is too long; it's hard to clean.

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.

烧shāoheat/burn

瓶píngbottle/flask

烧 means heat or burn and 瓶 means bottle, naming a bottle used for heating.

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 燒; 烧 is its simplified writing.

火堯燒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

堯

堯yáo燒shāo

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

The traditional form 燒 pairs 火 (fire) with 堯, which supplies the sound; the simplified 烧 is a shorthand.

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

并瓦瓶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

瓦瓦wǎearthenware

Sound part声符shēngfú

并

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

瓶 uses 瓦 to show an earthenware vessel and 并 for the sound. The original vessel had a long slender neck and narrow mouth.