客轮 (kè lún) — passenger ship | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

passenger ship

Measure word · 艘

客轮。
Tā men zuò kè lún qù lǚ xíng.
They took a passenger ship to travel.
客轮。
Zhè sōu kè lún néng zǎi wǔ bǎi rén.
This passenger ship can carry five hundred people.
客轮。
Měi tiān yǒu yī bān kè lún cóng shàng hǎi dào qīng dǎo.
There is a passenger ship from Shanghai to Qingdao every day.

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

客 marks passenger use, and 轮 refers to a ship, so the word means a passenger vessel.

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

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 輪; 轮 is its simplified writing.

車侖輪

Meaning part形符xíngfú

車車jūcarriage

Sound part声符shēngfú

侖

侖lún輪lún

Same sound today

The traditional form 輪 uses 車, a carriage, and 侖 for the sound; the simplified 轮 is a later shorthand.