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开夜车 (kāi yè chē) — to burn the midnight oil, to work or study late into the night

Definition

Idiomatic verb meaning to work or study late into the night, literally 'drive a night car'. It is a separable verb: 在开夜车, 开了夜车, 开一夜的车.

verb
to burn the midnight oil, to work or study late into the night

Examples

  • 开夜车。
    Kǎo shì qián tā tiān tiān kāi yè chē.
    He burned the midnight oil every day before the exam.
  • 。
    Wǒ zuó wǎn kāi le sān gè xiǎo shí yè chē cái xiě wán bào gào.
    I worked late for three hours last night to finish the report.
  • 开夜车，。
    Bié zǒng kāi yè chē, duì shēn tǐ bù hǎo.
    Don't always stay up late working — it's bad for your health.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

开kāidrive
夜车night vehicle
夜yènight车chēvehicle
偏正Modifier + head

开 points to driving or working, and 夜车 pictures a night vehicle; together it means burning midnight oil.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

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
夕夕xīmoon
Sound part声符shēngfú
亦
亦yì夜yè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 夜 pairs 亦 as a sound part with 夕 as a moon part, for night. In the modern shape, the 亦 part is broken up and one stroke merges into 夕.

Open 夜 →

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 →
Appears in
Daily RoutineTime of Day

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