铁矿 (tiě kuàng) — iron ore; iron mine

Definition

铁矿 can mean both the mineral itself ('iron ore') and the place where it is extracted ('iron mine'). The 矿 here is the shared element with other minerals like 煤矿 and 铜矿.

noun
iron oreiron mine
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 铁矿。
    Zhè ge dì qū yǒu fēng fù de tiě kuàng zī yuán.
    This region has abundant iron ore resources.
  • 铁矿。
    Tā men zhèng zài kāi cǎi yí zuò dà xíng tiě kuàng.
    They are mining a large iron mine.
  • 铁矿。
    tiě kuàng De jià gé zuì jìn shàng zhǎng le hěn duō.
    The price of iron ore has risen a lot recently.

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.

铁tiěiron
矿kuàngore or mine

铁 means iron and 矿 means ore or mine, giving iron ore or an iron mine.

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 鐵; 铁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢧤
𢧤𢧤鐵tiě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鐵 pairs 金 (metal) with 𢧤 as a sound part; the simplified 铁 is a later shorthand.

Open 铁 →

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 礦; 矿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shístone
Sound part声符shēngfú
廣
廣guǎng礦kuàng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 礦 shows 石, meaning stone, beside 廣, which gives the sound. The simplified 矿 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 矿 →

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