总机 (zǒng jī) — telephone exchange; switchboard; (by extension)…

Definition

noun

telephone exchangeswitchboard(by extension) switchboard operator

Measure word · 台

总机，。
Qǐng bāng wǒ zhuǎn zǒng jī, wǒ yào zhǎo xiāo shòu bù.
Please transfer me to the switchboard — I need the sales department.
总机。
Gōng sī zǒng jī de xiàn lù jīn tiān chū le wèn tí.
The company's telephone exchange lines had a problem today.
总机，。
Dǎ zǒng jī zǒng shì máng yīn, wǒ zhí jiē bō le fēn jī.
The switchboard was always busy, so I directly dialed the extension.

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.

机jīmachine

总 gives the sense of overall or central, while 机 is a machine.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 總; 总 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìrope

Sound part声符shēngfú

悤

悤cōng總zǒng

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

The traditional form 總 has 糸, a rope, and 悤 as a sound part; the rope part is for binding together. This account is for 總, not for 总.

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

Same sound today

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

Appears in