蜡烛 (là zhú) — candle | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

蜡烛 is the everyday word for a wax 'candle' (the object you light), counted with 根 or 支. 蜡 alone means the material 'wax', not the candle itself.

noun

candle

Measure word · 根, 支

Examples

蜡烛。
Tā mǎi le yì gēn hóng sè de là zhú.
She bought a red candle.
蜡烛。
Shēng rì dàn gāo shàng chā zhe yì zhī là zhú.
There is a candle stuck in the birthday cake.
蜡烛，。
Wǒ men chuī miè le là zhú, rán hòu xǔ yuàn.
We blew out the candle and then made a wish.

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.

Wax and candle combine to name a wax candle.

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 蠟; 蜡 is its simplified writing.

虫巤蠟

Meaning part形符xíngfú

虫虫chónginsect

Sound part声符shēngfú

巤

巤liè蠟là

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

The traditional form 蠟 has 虫 (insect) and 巤 (sound); the simplified 蜡 is a shorthand.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Miscellaneous Objects 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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