划船 (huá chuán) — to row a boat, to paddle a boat | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A separable verb meaning 'to row / paddle a boat' — 划 and 船 can split apart (e.g. 划了两个小时的船) or be used together to refer to the activity of boating.

verb

to row a boatto paddle a boat

Examples

划船。
Wǒ men míng tiān qù huá chuán ba.
Let's go rowing tomorrow.
。
Wǒ jīn tiān zài gōng yuán de hú shàng huà le yí cì chuán.
I rowed a boat on the park lake once today.
。
Tā men huà le liǎng gè xiǎo shí de chuán cái dào duì àn.
They rowed for two hours before reaching the opposite shore.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

划 means row and 船 means boat, describing the action of rowing a boat.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

戈

戈gē划huá

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

划 is made of 刀, a knife, and 戈, a weapon. The 戈 part gives the sound.

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

舟舟zhōuboat

Sound part声符shēngfú

㕣

㕣㕣船

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

船 pairs 舟 (boat) with 㕣 for its sound.

Appears in

HSK 2.0 Level 5 Outdoor Recreation Boats & Water Travel

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