bō li
กระจก
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这个玻璃杯很漂亮。
Zhège bōlíbēi hěn piàoliang.
This glass cup is very beautiful.
窗户上的玻璃碎了。
Chuānghu shàng de bōlí suì le.
The glass on the window is broken.
我戴着眼镜，因为我的视力不好。
Wǒ dài zhe yǎnjìng, yīnwèi wǒ de shìlì bù hǎo.
I wear glasses because my eyesight is not good.
The Chinese word 玻璃 (bōli) for "glass" has an interesting etymology that reflects its historical origins and cultural significance. The word is composed of two characters: 玻 (bō) and 璃 (lí). The character 玻 is derived from the ancient Chinese word 頗 (pō), which originally meant "thin" or "transparent." Over time, the pronunciation of 頗 changed to 玻, and it began to be used specifically to refer to glass. The character 璃 (lí) is thought to have originated from the Sanskrit word vaidūrya, which was used to describe a type of precious stone or crystal. When Buddhism was introduced to China, the word vaidūrya was adopted and used to refer to glass, which was seen as a valuable and exotic material. The combination of 玻 and 璃 created the word 玻璃, which came to be used exclusively for "glass" in Chinese.
