保险带 (bǎo xiǎn dài) — safety belt

Definition

Refers specifically to a 'safety belt' — a harness or strap used in vehicles, aircraft, or high-altitude work to prevent falling. In everyday car contexts 安全带 is the more common modern term.

noun
safety belt
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 保险带。
    Zuò chē de shí hou yí dìng yào xì hǎo bǎo xiǎn dài.
    Be sure to fasten your safety belt when riding in a car.
  • 保险带。
    Fēi jī qǐ fēi qián qǐng jiǎn chá bǎo xiǎn dài shì fǒu kòu jǐn.
    Please check that your safety belt is securely fastened before takeoff.
  • 保险带。
    Gāo kōng zuò yè de gōng rén dōu bì xū pèi dài bǎo xiǎn dài.
    Workers doing high-altitude work must wear safety belts.

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.

保险safety
保bǎoprotect险xiǎndanger
动宾Verb + object
带dàibelt

保险 conveys protection against danger, and 带 is a belt, together naming a safety belt.

Characters in this word

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

保 originally showed a person 人 carrying a child 子 on their back, which led to the sense of protecting.

Open 保 →

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 險; 险 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
僉
僉qiān險
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 險 pairs 阝, written in full as 阜, with 僉, which gives the sound; the simplified 险 is a shorthand.

Open 险 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 帶; 带 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 帶 was drawn as a woven belt; the simplified 带 is a later shorthand.

Open 带 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.