TongTong
Sign in

机枪 (jī qiāng) — machine gun

Definition

noun
machine gun
Measure word · 挺

Examples

  • 机枪。
    Tā shǒu lǐ ná zhe yì tǐng jī qiāng.
    He is holding a machine gun in his hand.
  • 机枪。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng lǐ yǒu hěn duō jī qiāng.
    There are many machine guns in this movie.
  • 机枪。
    Zhè zhǒng jī qiāng de shè sù fēi cháng kuài.
    This type of machine gun has a very fast rate of fire.

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jīmachine
枪qiānggun

机 means machine and 枪 means gun, denoting a machine-operated gun.

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
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 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
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.

Open 枪 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.