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地雷 (dì léi) — land mine

Definition

noun
land mine
Measure word · 颗

Examples

  • 地雷。
    Shì bīng men xiǎo xīn dì mái xià le dì léi.
    The soldiers carefully buried the land mines.
  • 地雷，。
    Zhè ge qū yù kě néng yǒu dì léi, qǐng bú yào kào jìn.
    There may be land mines in this area; please don't approach.
  • 地雷。
    Tā zài yóu xì zhōng bèi dì léi zhà sǐ le.
    He was blown up by a land mine in the game.

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.

地dìground
雷léithunder

The word combines ground and thunder to mean a land mine.

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

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
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
畾
畾léi雷léi
Same sound today

The top 雨 (rain) points to the meaning, and the bottom 畾 gives the sound.

Open 雷 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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