矿物 (kuàng wù) — mineral | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

mineral

Measure word · 种

Examples

矿物。
Zhōng guó yǒu fēng fù de kuàng wù zī yuán.
China has abundant mineral resources.
矿物。
Zhè zhǒng kuàng wù de yìng dù fēi cháng gāo.
This mineral has very high hardness.
矿物。
Dì zhì xué jiā fā xiàn le yì zhǒng xīn de kuàng wù.
Geologists discovered a new kind of mineral.

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kuàngmineral

物wùsubstance

矿 points to mineral or ore, and 物 marks a substance, together naming a mineral.

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.

石廣礦

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 →

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

牛勿物

Meaning part形符xíngfú

牛牛niú

Sound part声符shēngfú

勿

勿wù物wù

Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Open 物 →

Appears in