胶泥 (jiāo ní) — clay; daub (viscous earth used for pottery, bui… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

claydaub (viscous earth used for pottery, building, or sculpture)

Measure word · 块

Examples

胶泥。
Zhè zhǒng jiāo ní hěn shì hé zuò táo qì.
This kind of clay is very suitable for making pottery.
胶泥。
Gǔ dài rén men yòng jiāo ní lái jiàn zào fáng wū.
Ancient people used clay to build houses.
胶泥，。
Zhè zhǒng jiāo ní de nián xìng hěn qiáng, shì hé zuò diāo sù.
This clay has strong stickiness and is suitable for sculpture.

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.

胶 suggests glue-like stickiness and 泥 means mud, denoting a sticky clay or daub.

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 膠; 胶 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat; flesh

Sound part声符shēngfú

翏

翏liù膠jiāo

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

The traditional form 膠 pairs ⺼ (meat; flesh) with 翏, which gives the sound.

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

氵尼泥

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

尼

尼ní泥nì

Same sound today

The left side is 氵, the water part; the right side is 尼, which gives the sound.

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