水晶
shuǐjīng
The English word crystal is translated into Chinese as 水晶 (shuǐjīng).
The word 水晶 refers to the mineral crystal. In formal contexts, the word 'crystal' is translated as 晶体.
Meaning: mineral (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
shuǐjīng
Did you know?
- The word 水晶 literally translates to 'water crystal', reflecting an ancient belief that crystals were actually frozen water that had become so cold it could never melt.
- In Chinese, the character 晶 is a phono-semantic compound where the triple 'sun' component 日 suggests brightness or clarity.
- The character 晶 is a 'character of many parts', where repeating the same radical three times is a common way to intensify the meaning of the original radical.
Examples in context
- 这颗晶体非常美丽。This crystal is very beautiful.
- 这个实验需要用到纯净的晶体。This experiment requires the use of pure crystals.
- 她在集市上卖水晶摆件。She sells crystal ornaments at the market.
- 他收集了很多水晶。Tā shōují le hěnduō shuǐjīng.He collects a lot of crystals.
- 这种水晶的价格很高。Zhè zhǒng shuǐjīng de jiàgé hěn gāo.The price of this kind of crystal is very high.
Example conversation
Two friends are looking at a gift in a shop.
- 伟 Wei佳怡，你看这块水晶怎么样？Jiāyí, nǐ kàn zhè kuài shuǐjīng zěnmeyàng?Jiayi, what do you think of this crystal?
- 佳怡 Jiayi这块水晶的颜色很纯净。Zhè kuài shuǐjīng de yánsè hěn chúnjìng.The color of this crystal is very pure.
- 伟 Wei你想买它作为礼物吗？Nǐ xiǎng mǎi tā zuòwéi lǐwù ma?Do you want to buy it as a gift?
- 佳怡 Jiayi我觉得很合适。Wǒ juédé hěn héshì.I think it is very suitable.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “crystal” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
