樟脑球

樟腦球
zhāngnǎoqiú
noun

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 mothballs
  2. 2 camphor balls

Examples

HSK 6
Māma bǎ zhāngnǎoqiú fàng jìn yīguì lǐ fáng chóng.
Mom puts mothballs in the wardrobe to keep insects away.
HSK 6
Zhè tiáo máoyī yǒu yì gǔ zhāngnǎoqiú de wèidào.
This sweater smells of mothballs.

Tips

usage
Modern Chinese 樟脑球 are usually para-dichlorobenzene or naphthalene rather than real camphor (extracted from the camphor tree, 樟树). The name stuck because traditional ones were genuine camphor. The pungent storage-cupboard smell is iconic enough that 樟脑球 is a literary shorthand for 'old-fashioned' or 'fusty'.

Stroke Order

zhāng
nǎo
qiú