铁质 (tiě zhì) — (attributive) made of iron/steel; iron

Definition

An attributive adjective meaning 'made of iron/steel', used only before a noun (e.g. 铁质大门). It describes the material of an object rather than naming the metal itself.

adjective
(attributive) made of iron/steeliron

Examples

  • 铁质。
    Zhè zuò qiáo shì tiě zhì jié gòu de.
    This bridge is made of iron structure.
  • 铁质。
    Tā shōu cáng le hěn duō tiě zhì de lǎo gōng jù.
    He has collected many old iron tools.
  • 铁质。
    tiě zhì Dà mén fēi cháng jiān gù.
    The iron gate is very sturdy.

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
质zhìmaterial

铁 means iron and 质 means material or quality; the phrase describes something whose substance is iron.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 質; 质 is its simplified writing.

  • 斦斦yín
  • 貝貝bèi

The traditional form 質 is made up of 貝 and 斦; this describes 質, not the simplified 质.

Open 质 →

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