呼叫器 (hū jiào qì) — pager, beeper | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

pagerbeeper

Measure word · 个

Examples

呼叫器。
Yī shēng bǎ hū jiào qì fàng zài kǒu dài lǐ.
The doctor put the pager in his pocket.
呼叫器，。
Tā tīng dào hū jiào qì xiǎng le, gǎn jǐn huí diàn huà.
He heard the pager beep and quickly called back.
呼叫器。
Zhè ge hū jiào qì yǐ jīng hěn jiǔ méi rén yòng le.
This pager hasn't been used by anyone for a long time.

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.

呼叫call

呼hūcall叫jiàocall

联合Side by side

器qìdevice

呼叫器 combines 呼叫 (call) and 器 (device): a device that receives incoming calls.

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.

口乎呼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

乎

乎hū呼hū

Same sound today

呼 uses 口 (mouth) to show exhaling, calling, or shouting, and 乎 gives the sound.

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

口丩叫

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

丩

丩jiū叫jiào

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

叫 shows a mouth 口 and a sound part 丩. The mouth fits the old sense of shouting.

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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