What does porcelain mean?
Word: Porcelain
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Porcelain means a fine, hard and shiny material, usually white, made by baking a special clay at a very high heat. Cups, plates, vases and ornaments are made from it.
How do you spell porcelain?
Syllables: por - ce - lain
Tricky part: The last part sounds like lin, but it is spelt -lain, as in plain.
Watch out for: porcelin, porcelane
Memory tip: Think of a plain white porcelain cup: plain and porcelain end with the same four letters, -lain.
Porcelain in a sentence
Example 1: Mum keeps her best porcelain teacups for special guests.
Example 2: The museum has a blue-and-white porcelain vase that is hundreds of years old.
Example 3: The porcelain sink in the old bathroom still shines after fifty years.
Fun Fact
Hard porcelain is fired at around 1,300 degrees Celsius or more, far hotter than the kilns used for ordinary clay pots.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
por__elain
a) c
b) ss
c) s
d) sc
Show answer
a) c. A c that sounds like s follows por-, as in parcel.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
cleanopir 123456789
a) 769132485
b) 769132845
c) 769123485
d) 796132485
Show answer
a) 769132485. Reading the letters as 7, 6, 9, 1, 3, 2, 4, 8, 5 gives porcelain.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its meaning:
1. porcelain 2. bamboo 3. granite a. a very hard grey or pink stone used for buildings b. the material of a thin teacup that rings softly when tapped c. a tall plant with hollow, woody stems
a) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
b) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
c) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
d) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
Show answer
d) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a. Granite is the hard stone, bamboo the tall hollow plant, and porcelain the thin, ringing teacup material.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) pottery
b) porcelain
c) earthenwear
d) ceramic
Show answer
c) earthenwear. Earthenware shares its last four letters with kitchenware and software.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why should you wrap a porcelain bowl in paper before moving house?
a) It will get too heavy
b) It can crack or chip easily
c) It might change colour
d) It could get dusty in the van
Show answer
b) It can crack or chip easily
2. Fine porcelain plates and cups are often called by the name of a country. Which one?
a) Brazil
b) Egypt
c) Japan
d) China
Show answer
d) China
