蒸气 (zhēng qì) — vapor; steam | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

vaporsteam

Examples

蒸气。
Shuǐ jiā rè hòu biàn chéng le zhēng qì.
Water turns into vapor after being heated.
蒸气。
Yù shì lǐ chōng mǎn le zhēng qì.
The bathroom is full of steam.
蒸气。
zhēng qì Cóng guō gài biān mào chū lái.
Steam comes out from the edge of the pot lid.

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.

'蒸' refers to steam and '气' refers to gas, together naming vapor or steam.

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.

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

气qì氣qì

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

Materials & Substances

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