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气象 (qì xiàng) — meteorological phenomena; meteorology; atmosphere, ambience, scene

Definition

In its scientific sense, 气象 refers to weather phenomena — distinct from 气候 (long-term climate of a region) and 空气 (the physical air). It also means 'atmosphere' or 'ambience' of a place, close to 气氛 and 氛围.

noun
meteorological phenomenameteorologyatmosphereambiencescene
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 气象，。
    Zuì jìn de qì xiàng biàn huà hěn dà, jīng cháng xià yǔ.
    The weather has been changing a lot recently; it rains often.
  • 气象。
    Zhè ge chéng shì de qì xiàng ràng wǒ gǎn jué fēi cháng shū shì.
    The atmosphere of this city makes me feel very comfortable.
  • 气象。
    Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū quán qiú qì xiàng biàn huà.
    Scientists are studying global climate change.

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.

气qìair
象xiàngphenomenon

气 'air' and 象 'phenomenon' combine to mean atmospheric phenomena.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →

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

象 is drawn as an elephant, with a long trunk, a head, and a big body.

Open 象 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Weather

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