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裂纹 (liè wén) — crack; fissure; crackle (on porcelain or glaze); (geology) cleavage

Definition

noun
crackfissurecrackle (on porcelain or glaze)(geology) cleavage
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 裂纹，。
    Zhè ge bēi zi yǒu yí dào liè wén, kě néng kuài yào suì le.
    This cup has a crack; it might break soon.
  • 裂纹。
    Zhè jiàn gǔ dǒng cí qì shàng yǒu měi lì de liè wén.
    This antique porcelain has beautiful crackle.
  • 裂纹。
    Yán shí de liè wén biǎo míng zhè lǐ céng jīng fā shēng guò dì zhèn.
    The cleavage in the rock indicates that an earthquake occurred here in the past.

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.

裂liècrack/split
纹wénline/pattern

The 裂 part gives the source of splitting, and 纹 means line or pattern, so the word denotes a crack.

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
衣衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
列
列liè裂liè
Same sound today

裂 combines 衣 (clothes) with 列 for the sound. The picture of 列 shows bones cut by a blade and lined up, and the whole writes the idea of cutting and tearing clothes.

Open 裂 →

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 紋; 纹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
文
文wén紋
Same sound today

The traditional form 紋 pairs 糸 (thread) with 文 as the sound part, giving the sense of a line of thread; this note is about 紋, not 纹.

Open 纹 →
Appears in
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