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物资 (wù zī) — goods and supplies, material resources

Definition

物资 stresses physical supplies and material resources, often for organizations, military, or disaster relief — broader and more institutional than 物品 (everyday articles) or 货 (commercial merchandise).

noun
goods and suppliesmaterial resources
Measure word · 批

Examples

  • 物资。
    Zhèng fǔ xiàng zāi qū yùn sòng le dà liàng de shēng huó wù zī.
    The government sent large quantities of daily necessities to the disaster area.
  • 物资。
    Jūn duì xū yào chōng zú de wù zī lái wéi chí zuò zhàn néng lì.
    The military needs sufficient supplies to maintain combat capability.
  • 物资。
    Cāng kù lǐ duī mǎn le gè zhǒng wù zī.
    The warehouse is piled high with all kinds of supplies.

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.

物wùmaterial goods
资zīresources

物 names material goods and 资 names resources, so the word means supplies or material resources.

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.

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.

Open 物 →

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 資; 资 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell-money
Sound part声符shēngfú
次
次cì資zī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 資 puts 次 above 貝, a shell-money sign, to write property or resource; 次 supplies the sound. The simplified 资 is a shorthand, so do not treat its parts as historical.

Open 资 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Business & Commerce

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