煤油灯 (méi yóu dēng) — kerosene lamp | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

kerosene lamp

Measure word · 盏

Examples

煤油灯。
Yé ye jiā hái yǒu yì zhǎn lǎo shì de méi yóu dēng.
Grandpa's house still has an old-fashioned kerosene lamp.
，煤油灯。
Tíng diàn de shí hou, wǒ men diǎn qǐ le méi yóu dēng.
When the power went out, we lit a kerosene lamp.
煤油灯。
Bó wù guǎn lǐ zhǎn chū le qīng cháo de méi yóu dēng.
The museum displays kerosene lamps from the Qing dynasty.

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.

煤油kerosene

煤méicoal油yóuoil

偏正Modifier + head

煤油 “kerosene” and 灯 “lamp” combine to mean a kerosene lamp.

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.

火某煤

Meaning part形符xíngfú

火火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

某

某mǒu煤méi

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

煤 puts 火 (fire) on the left and 某 on the right; the fire part relates to coal, and 某 gives the sound.

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

氵由油

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

由yóu油yóu

Same sound today

油 is built from 氵, a water part, and 由, which supplies the sound.

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

火丁灯

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng灯dēng

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

灯 pairs 火, which shows fire, with 丁, which gives the sound.

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.