吡咯

bǐluò
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 pyrrole (organic compound, C₄H₅N)

Examples

Bǐluò shì zǔchéng xiěhóngsù de jīběn dānyuán.
Pyrrole is the basic building block of heme.
Huàxué kè shàng lǎoshī jiǎng le bǐluò de héchéng fāngfǎ.
In chemistry class the teacher explained how pyrrole is synthesized.

Tips

memory
Pure phonetic loan from English 'pyrrole' — bǐ-luò ≈ pyr-rol. The radical on both characters signals 'sound only, no semantic content,' a common Chinese pattern for foreign chemical names (cf. 吗啡 morphine, 咖啡 coffee).
culture
Four pyrrole rings linked together form the porphyrin ring at the heart of hemoglobin (red, in animals) and chlorophyll (green, in plants). The same molecule colors blood and leaves.

Stroke Order

lo