机身 (jī shēn) — fuselage (the main body of an aircraft)

Definition

noun
fuselage (the main body of an aircraft)
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 机身
    Zhè jià fēi jī de jī shēn cǎi yòng le xīn xíng fù hé cái liào.
    The fuselage of this aircraft uses a new type of composite material.
  • 机身
    Wéi xiū rén yuán zhèng zài jiǎn chá jī shēn de sǔn shāng qíng kuàng.
    The maintenance crew is inspecting the damage to the fuselage.
  • 机身
    jī shēn Nèi bù kōng jiān kuān chang, kě yǐ róng nà sān bǎi míng chéng kè.
    The interior space of the fuselage is spacious and can accommodate three hundred passengers.

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.

machine

"机" (machine) and "身" (body) combine to name the main body of an aircraft.

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
tree; wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

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

Open 机 →

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

The shape of 身 comes from a drawing of a pregnant woman.

Open 身 →
Appears in

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