客机 (kè jī) — passenger plane, airliner | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A passenger plane (the aircraft itself). Unlike 客运, which refers to the transportation service or business, 客机 names the physical plane.

noun

passenger planeairliner

Measure word · 架

Examples

客机。
Zhè jià kè jī shì cóng běi jīng fēi wǎng shàng hǎi de.
This airliner flies from Beijing to Shanghai.
客机。
Chéng zuò kè jī bǐ zuò huǒ chē kuài duō le.
Taking a passenger plane is much faster than taking a train.
客机。
Zhè jiā háng kōng gōng sī de kè jī fú wù fēi cháng hǎo.
This airline's passenger plane service is very good.

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.

客kèpassenger

A plane carrying passengers.

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.

宀各客

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

各

各gè客kè

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

In 客, 宀 is a roof and 各 gives the sound; the character meant a guest.

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

木几机

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree; wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

几jǐ机jī

Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Air Travel

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