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民用 (mín yòng) — civilian; for civilian use

Definition

Used as an attributive adjective before nouns to mark something as 'for civilian use' — paired with 军用 (military). Distinct from 民间, which refers to the sphere of ordinary people.

adjective
civilianfor civilian use

Examples

  • 民用。
    Zhè jiā gōng chǎng zhuān mén shēng chǎn mín yòng chǎn pǐn.
    This factory specializes in producing civilian products.
  • 民用。
    mín yòng Jī chǎng hé jūn yòng jī chǎng de pǎo dào cháng dù bù tóng.
    Civilian airports and military airports have different runway lengths.
  • 民用，。
    Zhè zhǒng cái liào jì kě yòng yú mín yòng jiàn zhù, yě kě yòng yú jūn shì gōng chéng.
    This material can be used for civilian buildings as well as military engineering.

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.

民míncivilian
用yònguse

民 (civilian) and 用 (use) together mean for civilian use.

Characters in this word

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

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

Open 民 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Society & Public Life

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