排风扇 (pái fēng shàn) — exhaust fan

Definition

noun
exhaust fan
Measure word · 台

Examples

  • 排风扇。
    Chú fáng lǐ zhuāng le xīn de pái fēng shàn.
    A new exhaust fan was installed in the kitchen.
  • 排风扇，。
    Zhè ge pái fēng shàn shēng yīn tài dà le, gāi huàn le.
    This exhaust fan is too loud; it should be replaced.
  • 排风扇，。
    Dǎ kāi pái fēng shàn, bǎ yóu yān xī chū qù.
    Turn on the exhaust fan to suck the cooking oil fumes out.

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.

排风expel air
排páiexpel风fēngair
动宾Verb + object
扇shànfan

排风 means expelling air, and 扇 names the fan that performs this action.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi排pái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

排 uses 扌 (hand) to show arranging something with the hand, and 非 for the sound; this gives the sense of placing things in a line.

Open 排 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →

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

扇 puts 戶 (door) over 羽 (feather).

Open 扇 →

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