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青铜 (qīng tóng) — bronze (the metal alloy)

Definition

noun
bronze (the metal alloy)

Examples

  • 。
    Bó wù guǎn lǐ yǒu hěn duō gǔ dài de qīng tóng qì.
    There are many ancient bronze vessels in the museum.
  • 青铜。
    Zhè zūn qīng tóng xiàng shì èr bǎi nián qián zhù zào de.
    This bronze statue was cast two hundred years ago.
  • 青铜。
    Tā shōu cáng le yí kuài sòng dài de qīng tóng jìng.
    He collected a Song dynasty bronze mirror.

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.

青qīngblue-green
铜tóngcopper

青 gives the blue-green color, and 铜 names the copper alloy.

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.

An early form of 青 combined 生 and 井, both used for sound; the modern form has changed.

Open 青 →

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 銅; 铜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
同
同tóng銅tóng
Same sound today

The traditional form 銅 pairs 金 (metal) with 同 as the sound part; the simplified 铜 is a shorthand.

Open 铜 →
Appears in
Materials & Substances

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