福尔马林 (fú ěr mǎ lín) — formalin

Definition

noun
formalin

Examples

  • 福尔马林。
    Zhè zhǒng fú ěr mǎ lín kě yǐ yòng lái bǎo cún biāo běn.
    This type of formalin can be used to preserve specimens.
  • 福尔马林。
    Shí yàn shì lǐ yǒu yì gǔ qiáng liè de fú ěr mǎ lín wèi.
    There is a strong smell of formalin in the lab.
  • 福尔马林。
    Shǐ yòng fú ěr mǎ lín shí yào dài shǒu tào hé kǒu zhào.
    When using formalin, you should wear gloves and a mask.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

福fú
尔ěr
马mǎ
林lín

福尔马林 spells the sound of the foreign word formalin; the characters carry no meaning of their own.

Sound-only characters

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shì
Sound part声符shēngfú
畐
畐fú福fú
Same sound today

福 combines 示 and 畐, with 示 carrying the meaning and 畐 the sound.

Open 福 →

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爾; 尔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 爾, simplified as 尔, originally drew cloth on a loom with crossing threads. It was borrowed for its sound to write “you,” so the picture is unrelated to that meaning.

Open 尔 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Open 马 →

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

林 is made of two 木 (tree) placed side by side, showing many trees together, hence a forest.

Open 林 →

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