小型 (xiǎo xíng) — small-scale, small-sized; mini- | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A neutral adjective for 'small-scale / small-sized' (a 小型企业, 小型汽车). It is simply the opposite of 大型; 微小 and 渺小 describe something inherently tiny, not a size category.

adjective

small-scalesmall-sizedmini-

Examples

小型。
Zhè jiā gōng sī shì xiǎo xíng qǐ yè.
This company is a small-scale enterprise.
小型。
Tā men kāi fā le yí gè xiǎo xíng ruǎn jiàn.
They developed a small-scale software.
小型。
Zhè zhǒng xiǎo xíng qì chē hěn shòu huān yíng.
This type of small car is very popular.

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.

小型 means small scale, where 小 marks small and 型 marks type.

Characters in this word

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

八八bāto divide; to separate
丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

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

刑土型

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

刑

刑xíng型xíng

Same sound today

型 pairs 土 (earth) with 刑, which supplies the sound; the shape shows an earthen mold, hence form or pattern.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Size & Dimension

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