无人机 (wú rén jī) — drone (unmanned aerial vehicle)

Definition

noun
drone (unmanned aerial vehicle)
Measure word · 架

Examples

  • 无人机。
    wú rén jī Kě yǐ yòng lái pāi shè měi lì de fēng jǐng.
    Drones can be used to photograph beautiful scenery.
  • 无人机。
    Hěn duō gōng sī yòng wú rén jī sòng huò.
    Many companies use drones for delivery.
  • 无人机。
    Jūn duì shǐ yòng wú rén jī jìn xíng zhēn chá.
    The military uses drones for reconnaissance.

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.

无人unmanned
无wúwithout人rénperson
动宾Verb + object
机jīaircraft

无人机 combines 无人, meaning without a person, with 机, an aircraft, to describe a machine that flies with no pilot.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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
木木mùtree; wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ机jī
Same sound today

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

Open 机 →

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