二等 (èr děng) — second-class, second-rate | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'second-class / second-rank', used both for concrete ranks (train tickets, cabins) and for the negative sense of being 'second-rate' or inferior. Often paired with nouns like 舱, 车, or 奖励.

adjective

second-classsecond-rate

Examples

二等。
Tā mǎi le yì zhāng èr děng chē piào.
He bought a second-class train ticket.
二等，。
Zhè shì èr děng gōng mín dài yù, bù gōng píng.
This is second-class citizen treatment; it's unfair.
。
Gōng sī zhī gěi le tā èr děng jiǎng lì.
The company only gave him a second-rate reward.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

二èrsecond

二 marks the rank 等 as second, giving second-class.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

二 is drawn as two parallel strokes, where the number of strokes shows the amount.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

竹寺等

Meaning part形符xíngfú

竹竹zhúbamboo

Sound part声符shēngfú

寺

寺sì等děng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 竹 shows bamboo strips used for writing and sorting; the bottom 寺 once gave the sound, but now sounds different.

Appears in

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