坯 (pī) - Unfired earthenware & semi-finished product

坯Tone 1

pī ｜ 8 strokes ｜ radical: 土

柠七

坯 · pī

Unfired earthenware;

semi-finished product;

blank;

base material;

unprocessed state.

Unfired earthenwaresemi-finished productblank

Usage highlights

Clay blankUnfired brickSteel billetRough formBase materialSemi

Synonyms

  • 毛坯— rough blank; semi-finished product
  • 粗坯— coarse blank; rough form

Antonyms

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The potter shaped the clay into a blank (坯子).
  • This is just the rough form of the sculpture (坯体).
  • They produce steel billets (钢坯) at the factory.
  • The brick is still unfired (砖坯).

Collocations

  • Clay blank(泥坯)
  • Unfired brick(砖坯)
  • Steel billet(钢坯)
  • Rough form(毛坯)
  • Base material(坯料)
  • Semi-finished product(坯件)

Idioms

  • False refinement(土坯上釉)
  • Like a rough jade waiting to be carved(坯璞待琢)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • In traditional Chinese pottery and ceramics, '坯' represents the crucial intermediate stage between raw clay and the finished, fired product.
  • The term is metaphorically extended to describe anything in an undeveloped, preliminary, or unrefined state.
  • In manufacturing, it denotes semi-finished products that require further processing.

FAQ