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粘土 (nián tǔ) — clay; loam

Definition

noun
clayloam
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 粘土。
    Zhè zhǒng nián tǔ kě yǐ yòng lái zuò táo qì.
    This kind of clay can be used to make pottery.
  • 粘土，。
    Huā yuán lǐ de nián tǔ hěn féi wò, shì hé zhòng cài.
    The loam in the garden is very fertile and suitable for growing vegetables.
  • 粘土。
    Kǎo gǔ xué jiā zài dì xià fā xiàn le gǔ dài nián tǔ.
    Archaeologists discovered ancient clay underground.

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.

粘niánsticky
土tǔsoil

粘 means sticky and 土 means soil, together naming clay.

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
占
占zhàn粘zhān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

粘 pairs 米 (rice) with 占, which gives the sound. The 米 part is the rice in glutinous, sticky rice.

Open 粘 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 土 →
Appears in
Materials & Substances

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