玻璃 meaning in English

bōli

glass; (slang) male homosexual

HSK 5noun23 strokes

Meaning of 玻璃

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

bōli

glass
(slang) male homosexual

Measure word: 張|张,塊|块

How to use 玻璃

玻璃 is the everyday word for glass as a material, used for windows, cups, and bottles. It often appears before another noun to describe what something is made of, as in 玻璃杯 (bōlibēi) drinking glass. Example: 窗户的玻璃破了。(Chuānghu de bōli pò le.) The window glass is broken.

Both 玻 (bō) and 璃 (li) carry the jade radical 王 on the left, so think of glass as a clear, shiny stone like jade. The right sides 皮 and 离 mostly hint at the sounds.

Common mistake: Learners often pronounce 璃 with a full second tone (lí), but in 玻璃 it is usually neutral tone: bōli. Also, 玻璃 means the material, so for a drinking glass say 玻璃杯, not just 玻璃.

玻璃 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

她tā把bǎ鼻bí子zi贴tiē在zài玻bō璃lí上shàng。

She pressed her nose against the glass.

这zhè个ge玻bō璃lí杯bēi里lǐ没méi有yǒu任rèn何hé的de牛niú奶nǎi。

There isn't any milk in the glass.

啤pí酒jiǔ瓶píng是shì玻bō璃lí做zuò的de。

Beer bottles are made of glass.

有yǒu人rén把bǎ我wǒ新xīn车chē的de挡dǎng风fēng玻bō璃lí砸zá碎suì了le。

Someone broke the windscreen of my new car.

雅yǎ尼ní的de挡dǎng风fēng玻bō璃lí上shàng有yǒu一yī块kuài石shí头tou碎suì片piàn。

Yanni has a rock chip on his windshield.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

玻 bō · glass · 9 strokes

璃 lí · glass · 14 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 玻璃.

挡风玻璃	dǎngfēngbōli	windshield; wind screen
玻璃杯	bōlibēi	drinking glass

Questions about 玻璃

What does 玻璃 mean?

玻璃 (bōli) means "glass; (slang) male homosexual" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 玻璃?

玻璃 is made of 2 characters: 玻 (9 strokes), 璃 (14 strokes). That is 23 strokes in total.

Is 玻璃 an HSK word?

Yes. 玻璃 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

Can 玻璃 be used to mean a gay man?

Yes, in slang 玻璃 can refer to a male homosexual, especially in Taiwan. It can sound offensive or dated, so learners should avoid using it this way.

How do you say windshield in Chinese?

A car windshield is 挡风玻璃 (dǎngfēngbōli), literally glass that blocks the wind. Example: 挡风玻璃上有很多雨水。(Dǎngfēngbōli shang yǒu hěn duō yǔshuǐ.) There is a lot of rain on the windshield.