陶土 (táo tǔ) — potter's clay; kaolin

Definition

noun
potter's claykaolin
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 陶土。
    Zhè zhǒng táo tǔ fēi cháng shì hé zhì zuò chá hú.
    This kind of potter's clay is very suitable for making teapots.
  • 陶土。
    Tā yòng táo tǔ niē le yí gè xiǎo wǎn.
    He used potter's clay to shape a small bowl.
  • 陶土。
    Yōu zhì de táo tǔ shāo zhì chū lái de cí qì hěn guāng huá.
    High-quality kaolin produces very smooth porcelain when fired.

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.

陶táopottery
土tǔclay

The 陶 pottery use specifies the 土 clay, naming clay for pottery.

Characters in this word

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

  • 阜阜fùmound of dirt
  • 勹勹bāotwo people
  • 土土tǔearth

The oldest 陶 paired 阜 (mound of dirt) with 勹 (two people) and 土 (earth), showing digging; the parts below 勹 later changed.

Open 陶 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 土 →

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