TongTong
Sign in

正负 (zhèng fù) — positive and negative; plus-minus (in mathematics, electricity, etc.)

Definition

positive and negativeplus-minus (in mathematics, electricity, etc.)

Examples

  • 正负。
    zhèng fù Fú hào zài shù xué zhōng hěn zhòng yào.
    The plus-minus sign is very important in mathematics.
  • 正负。
    Zhè ge shí yàn xū yào cè liáng zhèng fù diàn hè.
    This experiment needs to measure positive and negative charges.
  • 正负。
    zhèng fù Liǎng gè fāng xiàng dōu yào kǎo lǜ.
    Both positive and negative directions must be considered.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

正zhèngpositive
负fùnegative

The 'positive' and 'negative' meanings stand side by side in 正负.

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
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng正zhèng
Same sound today

正 pairs 止 with 丁; 止 marks the sense and 丁 gives the sound.

Open 正 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 負; 负 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 負 combines 人 (person) and 貝 (cowry), with 人 written as ⺈; the simplified 负 is a later abbreviation.

Open 负 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6

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