守车 (shǒu chē) — caboose; guard's van (the last car of a freight train where the crew works)

Definition

noun
cabooseguard's van (the last car of a freight train where the crew works)
Measure word · 节

Examples

  • 守车。
    Zhè liè huò yùn huǒ chē de zuì hòu yì jié shì shǒu chē.
    The last car of this freight train is the caboose.
  • 守车。
    Lǎo shì tiě lù de shǒu chē lǐ tōng cháng yǒu liè chē yuán zhí bān.
    In old-style railways, there was usually a crew member on duty in the caboose.
  • 守车。
    Xiàn zài hěn duō huǒ chē yǐ jīng bú yòng shǒu chē le.
    Many trains no longer use a caboose nowadays.

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.

守shǒuguard
车chēvehicle

守 means guard and 车 means vehicle, giving a guard's van.

Characters in this word

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

  • 宀宀miánroof; building
  • 寸寸cùnhand

守 pairs 宀, a roof or building, with 寸, a hand, to show a hand guarding a place.

Open 守 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 車; 车 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 車 was drawn as a carriage seen from above, with wheels on both sides and a shaft at the front; the simplified 车 is a later shorthand.

Open 车 →

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