Stem word and its modifiers
Announcement From Dr. Mah:I have had several requests from readers for a guide to help them pronounce Chinese characters in pinyin. I have created this pronunciation guide to assist in learning Chinese for those who are interested. You may find the document here.
– Dr. Adeline Yen Mah
From time to time, I will send you something unique and fascinating about the Chinese language. Today, I want to tell you about Chinese stem words and their modifiers.
In the English language, hyphenated words such as absent-minded or cool-headed are occasionally used. Sometimes, two hyphenated words end up merging together and becoming one word. An example of this is the word land mine evolving from land mine to land-mine to landmine.
Although the hyphen is not used in Chinese, it is very, very common for two words to be placed side by side (like a hyphenated English word) in order to express a third concept.
For example, the two words 地理 when coupled together, mean geography. The word 地 by itself means land and 理 means logic or truth, but put the two words 地理 together and the single combination means geography.
Think of 地 as a stem word and 理 its modifier. Among the many other modifiers of the stem word 地 are the words 雷，球，契 and 址。
Taken individually, the word 雷 means thunder. 球 means ball. 契 means contract. 址 means location. Together, the second word modifies the first word 地 to express a third concept.
Thus
地理 = land logic = geography
地雷 = land thunder = landmine
地球 = land ball = earth
地契 = land contract = title deed
地址 = land location = address
‘Stem word and its modifiers’ forms part of the basic structure of the Chinese language. The stem word is usually the first word and its modifier the second word but not always.
Other examples are the following:
The stem word 电 means electric or electricity. Some of its modifiers are 话 (talk)，灯(lamp)，线 (thread)，脑 (brain)，池 (pond)，影 (shadow).
电话 = electric talk = telephone
电灯 = electric lamp = light
电线 = electric thread = wiring
电脑 = electric brain = computer
电池 = electric pond = battery
电影 = electric shadows = movies
The stem word 小 means small. Some of its modifiers are 便 (convenient), 产 (lay eggs, birth), 学 (learn), 气 (spiritual energy), 吃 (eat).
小便 = little convenience = urinate
小产 = little birth = miscarriage
小学 = little learning = primary school
小 气 = little energy = stingy
小 吃 = little eats = snack
There are numerous other examples of stem words and their modifiers. They form part of the basic structure of the Chinese language.
