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伏特 (fú tè) — (classifier) volt (unit of electric potential)

Definition

The measure word for 'volt' (the unit of electric potential), used after a number. Paired with 电压 (voltage) when talking about how many volts something runs at.

classifier
volt (unit of electric potential)

Examples

  • 伏特。
    Zhè kuài diàn chí de diàn yā shì shí èr fú tè.
    The voltage of this battery is 12 volts.
  • 伏特。
    Jiā yòng diàn lù tōng cháng shǐ yòng èr bǎi èr shí fú tè de jiāo liú diàn.
    Household circuits usually use 220-volt alternating current.
  • 伏特。
    Zhè ge shè bèi xū yào yì qiān fú tè yǐ shàng de diàn yuán.
    This device requires a power source of over 1000 volts.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

伏fú
特tè

伏特 is a sound loan for 'volt'; 伏 and 特 do not carry separate meanings here.

Sound-only characters

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

伏 combines 人 (person) and 犬 (dog), as a dog beside a person or a person taking a dog's low posture, to show lying prostrate.

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
牛牛niúox
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì特tè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape combines 牛 (ox) with 寺, which gives the pronunciation; it originally meant a large bull.

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Appears in
Units & Measurement5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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