减速 (jiǎn sù) — to slow down, to decelerate

Definition

减速 means to slow down or decelerate (vehicles, machines, motion). Used for deliberate reduction of speed, not as a casual 'slow down' to a person.

verb

to slow downto decelerate

，减速。
Qián miàn yǒu hóng dēng, qǐng jiǎn sù.
There's a red light ahead, please slow down.
，。
Sī jī jiǎn le yí xià sù, ràng xíng rén xiān guò.
The driver slowed down a bit to let pedestrians cross first.
减速。
Fēi jī zài jiàng luò qián xū yào jiǎn sù.
The plane needs to decelerate before landing.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

减 means to reduce and 速 means speed, so 减速 is to slow down.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 減; 减 is its simplified writing.

氵咸減

The traditional form 減 has 氵, water, and 咸, a seal: sealing off a stream of water lessens its flow. The simplified 减 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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辵辵chuò

Sound part声符shēngfú

束

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

速 pairs 辵, the walking part, with 束, which is used for its sound; the walking part fits the meaning of moving fast.

Appears in