水平仪 (shuǐ píng yí) — level (tool used in carpentry, construction, or surveying to check if a surface is horizontal or vertical)

Definition

noun
level (tool used in carpentry, construction, or surveying to check if a surface is horizontal or vertical)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 水平仪。
    Tā yòng shuǐ píng yí jiǎn chá le zhuō miàn shì fǒu píng zhěng.
    He used a level to check whether the tabletop was flat.
  • 水平仪。
    Zhuāng xiū gōng rén xū yào yì bǎ hǎo de shuǐ píng yí.
    Renovation workers need a good level.
  • 水平仪，。
    Zhè ge shuǐ píng yí bú tài zhǔn, huàn yí gè ba.
    This level isn't very accurate — let's switch to another one.

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.

水平level
水shuǐwater平píngflat
主谓Subject + predicate
仪yíinstrument

水 means water and 平 means flat; 仪 means instrument; together they name an instrument for checking flatness.

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.

Open 水 →

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

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →

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 儀; 仪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
義
義yì儀yí
Same sound today

In the traditional form 儀, the left part 亻 shows a person, and the right part 義 supplies the sound. This description is about 儀, not the simplified 仪.

Open 仪 →

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