吸尘器 (xī chén qì) — vacuum cleaner | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

vacuum cleaner

Measure word · 台

吸尘器。
Wǒ měi tiān yòng xī chén qì dǎ sǎo fáng jiān.
I clean my room with a vacuum cleaner every day.
吸尘器。
Zhè tái xīn xī chén qì xī lì hěn qiáng.
This new vacuum cleaner has very strong suction.
吸尘器。
Tā mǎi le yì tái zhì néng xī chén qì.
He bought a smart vacuum cleaner.

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.

吸尘suck dust

动宾Verb + object

吸 (suck) + 尘 (dust) + 器 (device) means a device that sucks dust.

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.

口及吸

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

及

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

吸 pairs 口 (mouth) with 及, which gives the sound and relates to grabbing, so the shape suggests grabbing through the mouth.

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

小土尘

In 尘, 小 (small) sits above 土 (earth), giving the idea of tiny bits of earth.

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

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.

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