气闸 (qì zhá) — air brake; pneumatic brake | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

air brakepneumatic brake

Measure word · 个

Examples

气闸，。
Huǒ chē shàng de qì zhá huài le, sī jī mǎ shàng tíng chē jiǎn chá.
The air brake on the train malfunctioned, so the driver stopped immediately to check.
气闸。
Zhòng xíng kǎ chē shǐ yòng de qì zhá bǐ chuán tǒng shā chē gèng ān quán.
The pneumatic brake used on heavy trucks is safer than traditional brakes.
气闸。
Gōng chéng shī zhèng zài cè shì xīn de qì zhá xì tǒng.
The engineer is testing the new air brake system.

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” means air and “闸” means a brake or gate, giving an air brake.

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.

气米氣

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.

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 閘; 闸 is its simplified writing.

門甲閘

Meaning part形符xíngfú

門門méngate

Sound part声符shēngfú

甲

甲jiǎ閘zhá

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

The traditional form 閘 pairs 門 (gate) with 甲, which gives the sound; the simplified 闸 is not the form described here.

Appears in

Technology & Engineering Vehicles

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