候机 (hòu jī) — to wait for a flight (at the airport) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A verb-noun compound meaning 'wait for a flight' at the airport, usually in the 候机楼 (terminal) or 候机室 (waiting lounge). Not interchangeable with 登机 ('board a flight') or 起飞 ('take off').

verb

to wait for a flight (at the airport)

Examples

候机。
Wǒ men zài jī chǎng hòu jī.
We are waiting for our flight at the airport.
，。
Wǒ hòu le sān gè xiǎo shí de jī, zhōng yú kě yǐ dēng jī le.
I waited for my flight for three hours and finally could board.
候机。
hòu jī De shí hou kě yǐ qù guàng guàng miǎn shuì diàn.
While waiting for the flight, you can browse the duty-free shops.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

候 means wait and 机 means plane; together they mean waiting for a flight.

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

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

矦

矦hóu候hòu

Same sound today

候 combines 亻, relating to people, with 矦, which gives the sound.

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

木几机

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree; wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

几jǐ机jī

Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Appears in

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