zhǐ
noun #14,273

Meanings

  1. 1 ester (chemistry)

Characters

Examples

Zhǐ shì yǒujī huàxué zhōng chángjiàn de huàhéwù.
Esters are common compounds in organic chemistry.
Hěnduō shuǐguǒ de xiāngwèi láizì zhǐ lèi wùzhì.
The aroma of many fruits comes from ester compounds.

Tips

memory
has the (alcohol) radical on the left and (zhǐ) as the phonetic component on the right. Esters are formed from alcohols and acids.

Components

radical
yǒu
wine jug; tenth earthly branch
Left is the wine-jug radical, originally a side-view drawing of a fermentation vessel. Indexing radical, anchoring in the alcohol / fermentation family ( wine, vinegar, drunk, acid). is the modern chemical term for ester — a class of compounds formed from acid + alcohol, so the radical is semantically apt.
phonetic
zhǐ
purpose; tasty
Right supplies the sound — zhǐ straight through, no drift. The 'purpose / tasty' meaning doesn't enter; is a pure sound-tag. The character was coined for organic chemistry in the late 19th century, picking wine + sound as a Sinified term for what English calls 'ester,' itself derived from German Essig 'vinegar.'

Stroke Order

zhǐ