矿主 (kuàng zhǔ) — mine owner; proprietor of a mine

Definition

noun
mine ownerproprietor of a mine
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 矿主。
    Nà wèi kuàng zhǔ jīng yíng zhe yí zuò dà xíng méi kuàng.
    That mine owner runs a large coal mine.
  • ，矿主。
    Yóu yú huán bǎo zhèng cè, xǔ duō kuàng zhǔ miàn lín zhuǎn xíng de yā lì.
    Due to environmental policies, many mine owners face pressure to transition.
  • 矿主。
    Zhè wèi kuàng zhǔ fēi cháng zhòng shì gōng rén de ān quán.
    This mine owner places great importance on workers' safety.

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.

矿kuàngmine
主zhǔowner/master

矿 'mine' and 主 'owner/master' combine to mean the owner of a mine.

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 礦; 矿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shístone
Sound part声符shēngfú
廣
廣guǎng礦kuàng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 礦 shows 石, meaning stone, beside 廣, which gives the sound. The simplified 矿 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 矿 →

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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