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粉丝 (fěn sī) — bean vermicelli; cellophane noodles; fan; enthusiast

Definition

粉丝 has two unrelated senses: thin glassy noodles made from mung-bean starch (粉 alone covers most other starch noodles), and 'fan/enthusiast' (a loanword from English). Don't confuse the food sense with 粉, which is the powder/starch itself.

noun
bean vermicellicellophane noodlesfanenthusiast
Measure word · 把

Examples

  • 粉丝。
    Wǒ mǎi le yì bǎ fěn sī.
    I bought a bundle of vermicelli.
  • 粉丝。
    Wǒ shì tā de fěn sī.
    I am his fan.
  • 粉丝。
    Tā yǒu hěn duō fěn sī.
    He has a lot of fans.

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.

粉fěnstarch
丝sīthread

粉 (starch) and 丝 (thread) name thin vermicelli made from starch.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
分
分fēn粉fěn
Same sound today

粉 pairs 米 (rice) with 分 for its sound. The rice part points to face powder made from rice.

Open 粉 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 絲; 丝 is its simplified writing.

  • 糸糸mì
  • 糸糸mì

In the traditional form 絲, the shape is two 糸 written together; this is about 絲, not the simplified 丝.

Open 丝 →
Appears in
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