Definition
物质 (wùzhì) is the broad concept of 'matter' or 'physical substance' — the stuff the universe is made of, as opposed to spirit or mind. It also refers to 'material' in the sense of material life. Unlike 材料 (cáiliào 'raw material') which is specific to what something is made of, and unlike 物体 (wùtǐ 'object') which is a discrete item, 物质 is the general category of physical substance.
noun
matter (as opposed to spirit, mind)substancematerial
Measure word · 个
Easily confused
- 无知wú zhīsound-alikeignorant
Examples
- 物质。Shuǐ shì yì zhǒng chángjiàn de wù zhì.Water is a common substance.
- 物质，。Wǒmen bùjǐn xūyào wù zhì shēnghuó, yě xūyào jīngshén shēnghuó.We need not only material life but also spiritual life.
- 物质。Huàxuéjiā yánjiū bùtóng de wù zhì.Chemists study different substances.
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