位移 (wèi yí) — displacement

Definition

In physics, 位移 is the vector quantity for an object's change in position from start to end — the straight-line distance with direction, not the path traveled (路径/路程).

noun
displacement

Examples

  • 位移。
    wèi yí Shì wù tǐ wèi zhì de biàn huà.
    Displacement is the change of an object's position.
  • 位移。
    Zhè ge shí yàn zhōng cè liáng de wèi yí fēi cháng zhǔn què.
    The displacement measured in this experiment is very accurate.
  • 位移。
    Gōng chéng shī jì suàn le qiáo liáng de wèi yí.
    The engineer calculated the displacement of the bridge.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

位wèiposition
移yímove

The parts 位 and 移 suggest a position that moves, giving the sense of displacement.

Characters in this word

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
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
立
立lì位wèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

位 combines 人 (man), related to people, with 立, which gives the sound. It was often simply written as 立.

Open 位 →

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
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
多
多duō移
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

移 pairs 禾, a grain plant, with 多, which gives the sound.

Open 移 →

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