白开水 (bái kāi shuǐ) — plain boiled water (often drunk as a healthy beverage without any additives)

Definition

noun
plain boiled water (often drunk as a healthy beverage without any additives)
Measure word · 杯

Examples

  • 白开水。
    Wǒ xí guàn měi tiān hē yì bēi bái kāi shuǐ.
    I'm used to drinking a glass of plain boiled water every day.
  • ，白开水。
    Bǐ qǐ yǐn liào, tā gèng xǐ huan hē bái kāi shuǐ.
    Compared to soft drinks, she prefers to drink plain boiled water.
  • 白开水，。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì tā duō hē bái kāi shuǐ, duì shēn tǐ hǎo.
    The doctor advised him to drink more plain boiled water; it's good for health.

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.

白báiplain
开水boiled water
开kāiboiled水shuǐwater
偏正Modifier + head

白 marks the water as plain, and 开水 is water that has been boiled.

Characters in this word

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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