瓦

wǎ

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

wǎ (noun) roof tile; tile

wǎ (noun) watt

Etymology

Pictograph of an object related to pottery.

About

瓦 originated as a pictograph of a pottery object, curved, interlocking roof tiles, whose strokes mimicked the convex and concave shapes of overlapping baked clay that repelled rain. Because these tiles were shaped and fired in kilns, the character extended to a semantic radical for words related to pottery, earthenware, and ceramics. Today, besides roof tiles and earthenware, 瓦 was phonetically borrowed to represent "watt", the unit of electrical power, adapting the ancient form to modern scientific use without structural change.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

屋顶上有红瓦。

Wū dǐng shàng yǒu hóng wǎ.

There are red tiles on the roof.

一块瓦从房上掉下来。

Yī kuài wǎ cóng fáng shàng diào xià lái.

A tile fell off the house.

工人正在铺瓦片。

Gōngrén zhèngzài pū wǎpiàn.

The workers are laying tiles.

这座庙用的是琉璃瓦。

Zhè zuò miào yòng de shì liúlí wǎ.

This temple uses glazed tiles.

奶奶的瓦罐里腌着咸菜。

Nǎinai de wǎguàn lǐ yān zhe xiáncài.

Grandma is pickling vegetables in her earthen jar.

这台空调的功率是一千瓦。

Zhè tái kōngtiáo de gōnglǜ shì yī qiānwǎ.

This air conditioner has a power of one kilowatt.

博物馆展出了古代的瓦当。

Bówùguǎn zhǎnchūle gǔdài de wǎdāng.

The museum is exhibiting ancient eaves tiles.

那位老瓦匠在细心修补老屋的瓦顶。

Nà wèi lǎo wǎjiang zài xìxīn xiūbǔ lǎo wū de wǎ dǐng.

That old tile craftsman is carefully repairing the tile roof of the old house.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 瓦

瓦