Chinese word

天平

Pronunciation

Pinyintiān píng

Meaning

  • nounbalance

Example

展品旁放着一个古老的天平。zhán pǐn páng fàng zhe yí gè gú lǎo de tiān píng

An old balance sits beside the exhibit.

Illustration for 天平 (balance)

More examples

实验员正在校准天平。shí yàn yuán zhèng zài jiào zhǔn tiān píng

The lab technician is calibrating the balance.

Core concept

A two-sided weighing instrument whose level beam shows which side carries more weight.

Common phrases

  • 电子天平diàn zi tiān píng

    electronic balance

  • 一台天平yì tái tiān píng

    a balance

  • 校准天平jiào zhǔn tiān píng

    calibrate the balance

Similar words

秤chèng: An instrument for weighing objects and finding their weight.
电子秤diàn zi chèng: An electric scale that measures weight and gives a digital reading.

Definition in Chinese

一种用来比较或测量物体重量的器具，通常由一根横梁和两端的秤盘或挂钩组成，通过两侧的平衡来判断质量或重量。yì zhǒng yòng lái bǐ jiào huò cè liáng wù tǐ zhòng liàng de qì jù tōng cháng yóu yì gēn héng liáng hé liǎng duān de chèng pán huò guà gōu zǔ chéng tōng guò liǎng cè de píng héng lái pàn duàn zhì liàng huò zhòng liàng

Word origin

天平 (tiānpíng, "balance") is formed from 天 (tiān, "sky") and 平 (píng, "level"), highlighting the level position that shows equal loads.

Usage tips

  • Descriptions of old exhibits and science lessons commonly use this word for a traditional two-pan instrument rather than a modern digital device.

Other meanings

  • scalenoun

Related words

  • 电子天平diàn zi tiān píngelectronic balancenoun

Word lists with this word