核辐射 (hé fú shè) — nuclear radiation

Definition

noun

nuclear radiation

核辐射。
hé fú shè Duì huán jìng de yǐng xiǎng hěn dà.
Nuclear radiation has a big impact on the environment.
核辐射。
Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū rú hé ān quán chǔ lǐ hé fú shè.
Scientists are researching how to safely handle nuclear radiation.
核辐射。
Zhè cì shì gù dǎo zhì hé fú shè xiè lòu.
This accident caused a nuclear radiation leak.

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.

核hénuclear

辐射radiation

偏正Modifier + head

'核' means nuclear and '辐射' means radiation, so the word denotes radiation from a nuclear source.

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.

木亥核

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

亥

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

核 pairs 木, a tree, with 亥 to give its sound; it originally named a kind of tree, and its later meanings are borrowed.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

In 射, the left part comes from 弓 (bow) and 矢 (arrow), and the right part comes from a hand drawing the bowstring.

Appears in