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蒸发 (zhēng fā) — to evaporate

Definition

Literally 'to steam off', used for liquids turning into vapor (water, alcohol). 蒸 is the base verb 'to steam' (food); 升华 is the physics term for a solid going directly to gas.

verb
to evaporate

Examples

  • 蒸发。
    Shuǐ zài tài yáng xià hěn kuài zhēng fā le.
    Water evaporates quickly under the sun.
  • 蒸发。
    Guō lǐ de shuǐ yǐ jīng quán bù zhēng fā le.
    The water in the pot has all evaporated.
  • 蒸发。
    Jiǔ jīng bǐ shuǐ gèng róng yì zhēng fā.
    Alcohol evaporates more easily than water.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

蒸zhēngvaporize
发fāgive off

蒸发 joins 蒸, to vaporize, with 发, to give off, so it means a liquid turning into vapor.

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
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
烝
烝zhēng蒸zhēng
Same sound today

蒸 pairs 艸 (grass) with 烝, which gives the sound.

Open 蒸 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Physics & Chemistry

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