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媒介 (méi jiè) — medium (for communication or transmission); vector (for disease or biological transmission); intermediary, agent (for abstract or social mediation)

Definition

媒介 means the 'medium' or 'carrier' that transmits something — a channel, a vector, or an intermediary. 媒体/传媒 refers to news media organizations; 中介 is a human broker or agency.

noun
medium (for communication or transmission)vector (for disease or biological transmission)intermediaryagent (for abstract or social mediation)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 媒介。
    Hù lián wǎng yǐ jīng chéng wéi yí gè zhòng yào de xìn xī méi jiè.
    The internet has become an important information medium.
  • 媒介。
    Wén zi shì chuán bō jí bìng de méi jiè zhī yī.
    Mosquitoes are one of the vectors for spreading diseases.
  • 媒介。媒介。
    Yīn yuè shì tā shū fā qíng gǎn de méi jiè. shū fā qíng gǎn de méi jiè.
    Music is her medium for expressing emotions.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

媒méigo-between
介jièintermediary

媒 means a go-between, and 介 means an intermediary; together they denote a medium.

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
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
某
某mǒu媒méi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

媒 combines 女, a woman, with 某, which gives it its sound.

Open 媒 →

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

介 shows a central human form with two marks around it, indicating being between.

Open 介 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6BiologyMedia & News

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