胶片 (jiāo piàn) — film (photographic film)

Definition

Photographic film — the physical light-sensitive strip used in traditional (non-digital) cameras, now largely replaced by digital sensors.

noun

film (photographic film)

Measure word · 卷

胶片。
Wǒ yòng jiāo piàn pāi le sān bǎi zhāng zhào piàn.
I took three hundred photos using film.
胶片。
Xiàn zài hěn shǎo yǒu rén shǐ yòng jiāo piàn xiàng jī le.
Nowadays very few people use film cameras.
胶片。
Zhè zhǒng jiāo piàn shì hé zài yè wǎn pāi shè.
This type of film is suitable for shooting at night.

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jiāoglue or gelatin

“胶” gives glue or gelatin and “片” gives sheet, so photographic film.

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in