Definitions

běn benzene; benzol (chemistry)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character "苯" originally functioned as a descriptive term for thick or luxuriant grass, a sense derived from its structural composition which places the grass radical atop the component "本", meaning root or source. Its classical usage was infrequent and narrowly applied to botanical descriptions, but the character experienced a substantial semantic shift during the period of scientific lexical borrowing, when it was adopted to translate the organic chemical compound "benzene". This reassignment was primarily phonetically motivated, with "本" approximating the "ben-" sound, while the grass radical provided a tenuous link to organic origins, thereby transforming the character from an obscure poetic adjective into a precise scientific term central to modern chemistry.

Example Sentences Hide

有特殊的气味。

Běn yǒu tèshū de qìwèi.

Benzene has a special smell.

在实验室里使用

Zài shíyànshì lǐ shǐyòng běn.

Use benzene in the laboratory.

是一种芳香烃化合物。

Běn shì yī zhǒng fāngxiāng tīng huàhéwù.

Benzene is an aromatic hydrocarbon compound.

的衍生物。

Jiǎběn shì běn de yǎnshēngwù.

Toluene is a derivative of benzene.

广泛用于化工生产。

Běn guǎngfàn yòng yú huàgōng shēngchǎn.

Benzene is widely used in chemical production.

对人体健康有害。

Běn duì réntǐ jiànkāng yǒuhài.

Benzene is harmful to human health.

污染对环境造成危害。

Běn wūrǎn duì huánjìng zàochéng wēihài.

Benzene pollution causes harm to the environment.

在催化剂作用下发生反应。

Běn zài cuīhuàjì zuòyòng xià fāshēng fǎnyìng.

Benzene reacts under the action of a catalyst.