玉米粉 (yù mǐ fěn) — cornstarch | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

cornstarch

玉米粉芡。
Zuò zhè dào cài xū yào jiā yì xiē yù mǐ fěn lái gōu qiàn.
This dish needs some cornstarch to thicken the sauce.
玉米粉。
Chāo shì lǐ de yù mǐ fěn fàng zài tiáo wèi pǐn qū.
The cornstarch in the supermarket is in the seasoning section.
玉米粉。
Yòng yù mǐ fěn dài tì miàn fěn kě yǐ ràng dàn gāo gèng sōng ruǎn.
Using cornstarch instead of flour can make the cake fluffier.

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.

玉米corn

偏正Modifier + head

玉 and 米 form 玉米, a name for corn, and 粉 gives powder, so the word means corn powder.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

玉 was drawn as a ritual jade piece, or as jade pieces strung together, and was made distinct from 王 by adding a dot.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

米 is a picture of rice kernels without husk, with the horizontal stroke as a bamboo sieve. It is unrelated to similar-looking grain characters.

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

米分粉

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

分

Same sound today

粉 pairs 米 (rice) with 分 for its sound. The rice part points to face powder made from rice.

Appears in