物 (wù) — thing, object; matter, affair | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

物 is a bound morpheme meaning 'thing / matter' — never used alone. It appears in compounds like 动物 (animal), 食物 (food), 礼物 (gift), and abstract nouns like 事物 (thing, matter).

bound form

thingobjectmatteraffair

Examples

。
Zhè zhǒng shí wù hěn jiàn kāng.
This kind of food is very healthy.
。
Dòng wù shì rén lèi de péng you.
Animals are friends of humans.
。
Tā sòng le wǒ yí fèn lǐ wù.
He gave me a gift.

Origin

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

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

牛勿物

Meaning part形符xíngfú

牛牛niú

Sound part声符shēngfú

勿

勿wù物wù

Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Appears in

Miscellaneous Objects 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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