水压 (shuǐ yā) — water pressure; hydraulic pressure

Definition

noun

water pressurehydraulic pressure

，。
Zhè ge xiǎo qū de shuǐ yā tài dī, sān lóu yǐ shàng jīng cháng méi shuǐ.
The water pressure in this neighborhood is too low; above the third floor there's often no water.
水压。
Yè yā xì tǒng yī kào shuǐ yā lái tuī dòng jī xiè bì.
The hydraulic system relies on water pressure to drive the robotic arm.
水压。
Gōng chéng shī zhèng zài cè shì guǎn dào zhōng de shuǐ yā shì fǒu wěn dìng.
The engineer is testing whether the water pressure in the pipes is stable.

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.

压yāpressure

水 names water, and 压 names pressure, so the word means water pressure.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

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 壓; 压 is its simplified writing.

厭土壓

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔdust

Sound part声符shēngfú

厭

厭yàn壓yā

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

The traditional form 壓 is built from 土, dust, and 厭, which gives the sound; 压 is the simplified form of 壓.

Appears in