余震 (yú zhèn) — aftershock | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

aftershock

Measure word · 次

，余震。
Qiáng liè de dì zhèn zhī hòu, yòu fā shēng le duō cì yú zhèn.
After the strong earthquake, many aftershocks occurred.
余震。
Zhè cì yú zhèn de qiáng dù bǐ dì yī cì dì zhèn xiǎo hěn duō.
The intensity of this aftershock is much smaller than that of the main earthquake.
，。
Jū mín men dān xīn wǎn shàng huì yǒu yú zhèn, dōu bù gǎn huí jiā.
Residents worried there would be aftershocks at night and dared not go home.

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.

余yúremaining

余 means remaining or after, and 震 means a quake, giving a quake after the main one.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 餘; 余 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

余

Same sound today

The traditional form 餘 pairs 食 (food) with 余 as its sound part; the simplified 余 is a later abbreviation.

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

雨辰震

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

辰

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

震 combines 雨 (rain) with 辰 (chén), which gives the sound; 雨 is the part associated with the character’s meaning.

Appears in