采油 (cǎi yóu) — to extract oil, to pump crude oil | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

采油 is an industrial term meaning 'to extract oil' — it pairs almost exclusively with 油田 ('oil field') as 油田采油, not used for everyday liquids.

verb

to extract oilto pump crude oil

Examples

采油。
Zhè ge yóu tián yǐ jīng cǎi yóu shí duō nián le.
This oil field has been extracting oil for over ten years.
。
Tā men zài zhè piàn hǎi yù cǎi le sān nián yóu.
They extracted oil in this sea area for three years.
采油。
Xīn xíng cǎi yóu shè bèi dà dà tí gāo le xiào lǜ.
The new oil extraction equipment greatly improved efficiency.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

采cǎiextract

采 means extract and 油 means oil, so the word names the action of extracting oil.

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 採; 采 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 采 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (采访, 采购) it is 採; in others it is 采.

扌采採

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

采

采cǎi採cǎi

Same sound today

The traditional form 採 combines 扌 (hand) with 采, which gives the sound and means to pick.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

氵由油

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

由yóu油yóu

Same sound today

油 is built from 氵, a water part, and 由, which supplies the sound.

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.