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砒

pī
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 arsenic; arsenic trioxide (the poison)

Examples

砒霜是剧毒物质，使用时要格外小心。
Pīshuāng shì jùdú wùzhì, shǐyòng shí yào géwài xiǎoxīn.
Arsenic is a highly toxic substance; great care must be taken when handling it.
旧小说里常用砒霜下毒害人。
Jiù xiǎoshuō lǐ cháng yòng pīshuāng xiàdú hàirén.
In old novels, arsenic is often used as a murder weapon.

Tips

usage
Almost always 砒霜 ('arsenic frost'), the classic white-powder poison of old crime stories. It is the old common name for 砷 (arsenic), the modern chemical term.

Components

radical
石 shí
stone; mineral
Stone radical on the left, 石. It marks a mineral substance — arsenic was extracted from ore. Same family as 硫 sulfur, 矿 ore, 碳 carbon.
phonetic
比 bǐ
to compare; side by side
Right side 比 supplies the sound (bǐ → pī). It is purely phonetic; the 'compare' meaning plays no part in this mineral-poison word.

Stroke Order

砒 pī