燃油 (rán yóu) — fuel (petroleum-based, used in engines) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Fuel refined from petroleum for engines (cars, planes, ships). More specific than the general 燃料, and narrower than 石油 (crude oil).

noun

fuel (petroleum-based, used in engines)

Examples

燃油。
Zhè liàng kǎ chē xū yào jiā rán yóu cái néng chū fā.
This truck needs to be refueled before it can leave.
燃油。
Guó jì rán yóu jià gé bō dòng hěn dà.
International fuel prices fluctuate greatly.
燃油。
Fēi jī shǐ yòng de rán yóu shì háng kōng méi yóu.
The fuel used by airplanes is aviation kerosene.

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.

燃 gives the sense of burning, and 油 means oil; together they name oil used as fuel.

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.

火然燃

Meaning part形符xíngfú

火火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

然

然rán燃rán

Same sound today

燃 adds 火 (fire) to 然 to write “burn”; 然 supplied the sound, and 火 was added to make the fire meaning clear.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Energy & Power

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