机关枪 (jī guān qiāng) — machine gun | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

machine gun

Measure word · 挺

Examples

。
Zhè bù diàn yǐng lǐ yǒu jī guān qiāng hé tǎn kè.
This movie has machine guns and tanks.
机关枪。
Tā shǒu lǐ ná zhe yì tǐng jī guān qiāng.
He is holding a machine gun in his hand.
。
Zhàn chǎng shàng jī guān qiāng yì zhí xiǎng gè bù tíng.
The machine gun kept firing on the battlefield.

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.

机关mechanism

机jīmachine关guānlatch

联合Coordinate

机关枪 is a 枪 equipped with 机关, a mechanism.

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.

木几机

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.

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 關; 关 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

門門méndoor

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢇅

𢇅𢇅關guān

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 关, the traditional form 關 shows 門 as a door and 𢇅 as two wooden sticks locking it, with ring-like marks on top.

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 槍; 枪 is its simplified writing.

木倉槍

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

倉

倉cāng槍qiāng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 槍 pairs 木 (wood) with 倉 as a sound part; the simplified 枪 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical component.

Appears in

Military & Defense

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