画质 (huà zhì) — image quality, resolution, definition

Definition

画质 specifically refers to the clarity and sharpness of a picture, video, or screen — a technical term used when comparing displays, cameras, or video streams.

noun
image qualityresolutiondefinition

Examples

  • 画质。
    Zhè tái diàn shì de huà zhì fēi cháng qīng xī.
    The image quality of this TV is very clear.
  • 画质。
    Zhào piàn de huà zhì qǔ jué yú xiàng jī de hǎo huài.
    The image quality of a photo depends on the quality of the camera.
  • 画质，。
    Zhè ge shì pín de huà zhì bú tài hǎo, yǒu diǎn mó hu.
    The image quality of this video is not very good, a bit blurry.

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.

画huàpicture
质zhìquality

画 denotes picture, and 质 denotes quality, naming the quality of an image.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 畫; 画 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùbrush
Sound part声符shēngfú
規
規guī畫huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 畫 pairs 聿, a brush, with 規 for its sound. The simplified 画 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the old parts.

Open 画 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 質; 质 is its simplified writing.

  • 斦斦yín
  • 貝貝bèi

The traditional form 質 is made up of 貝 and 斦; this describes 質, not the simplified 质.

Open 质 →

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