生铁 (shēng tiě) — pig iron | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Raw iron smelted from ore — brittle and high in carbon, used as a starting material before further refining into steel (钢) or wrought iron (熟铁).

noun

pig iron

Measure word · 块

生铁。
Zhè zuò gōng chǎng yòng shēng tiě zhù zào guǎn dào.
This factory uses pig iron to cast pipes.
生铁，。
shēng tiě Bǐ gāng cuì, dàn chéng běn dī.
Pig iron is more brittle than steel, but cheaper.
生铁。
Cóng kuàng shí zhōng liàn chū de shēng tiě xū yào jìn yí bù chǔ lǐ.
The pig iron smelted from ore needs further processing.

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.

生shēngraw/unprocessed

'生' (raw/unprocessed) specifies '铁' (iron) as crude iron.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

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 鐵; 铁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢧤

𢧤𢧤鐵tiě

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

The traditional form 鐵 pairs 金 (metal) with 𢧤 as a sound part; the simplified 铁 is a later shorthand.