千年虫 (qiān nián chóng) — Y2K bug, the millennium bug (a computer problem related to the year 2000 date transition)

Definition

Literal meaning: 'millennium worm' — Chinese name for the Y2K bug, the computer problem caused by programs storing years as two digits before the year 2000.

noun
Y2K bugthe millennium bug (a computer problem related to the year 2000 date transition)

Examples

  • 千年虫。
    Hěn duō rén dān xīn qiān nián chóng huì dǎo zhì diàn nǎo xì tǒng chū wèn tí.
    Many people worried that the Y2K bug would cause computer systems to have problems.
  • 千年虫，。
    Suī rán qiān nián chóng de wèn tí zuì zhōng méi yǒu zào chéng dà zāi nàn, dàn zhǔn bèi gōng zuò fēi cháng zhòng yào.
    Although the Y2K bug problem ultimately didn't cause a major disaster, preparation work was very important.
  • 千年虫。
    Zhèng fǔ tóu rù le dà liàng zī jīn lái jiě jué qiān nián chóng wèn tí.
    The government invested a large amount of money to solve the Y2K bug problem.

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.

千年thousand years
千qiānthousand年niányear
偏正Modifier + head
虫chóngbug

千年 (thousand years) and 虫 (bug) combine for the millennium bug.

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
一一yīone, signifying a number
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén千qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

千 pairs 人, whose sound was similar, with 一, a number stroke; the extra line was explained as extension, and a thousand is a number reached by extending counting.

Open 千 →

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
禾禾héwheat; grain
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén年nián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

年 pairs 禾 (grain) with 人, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was harvest, and it later came to mean a year.

Open 年 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蟲; 虫 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 蟲 is the one the reference discusses; 虫 is also a traditional character on its own.

Open 虫 →

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