Today’s word of the day is 材 (cái) which means ‘material’. Let’s practice by making different words, phrases, and sentences with 材 (cái).
棺材 (guān cai) Coffin
The first word is 棺材 (guān cai) which is a noun that means coffin. A way of using it in a sentence is: 古代棺材有四种颜色。(Gǔdài guāncai yǒu sì zhǒng yánsè.) Coffins came in 4 different colors in ancient times.
教材 (jiào cái) Textbook
Another word we can create with 材 (cái) is 教材 (jiào cái). This is a noun that means textbook. Let’s again look at each character of this word, 教 means ‘to teach’ and 材means ‘material’. A way of using it in a sentence is 你用哪一本教材学汉语？ (Nǐ yòng nǎ yī běn jiàocái xué hànyǔ?) Which textbook do you use to learn the Chinese language?
身材 (shēn cái) Body figure
Finally, we can create the word 身材 (shēn cái) which is a noun that means body figure. The 材 here means figure, so how skinny or fat you are. A way of using it in a sentence is 你的身材真好! (Nǐ de shēncái zhēn hǎo) You have a great figure! Use this when you want to give someone a big compliment.