水雷 (shuǐ léi) — submarine mine; naval mine | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

submarine minenaval mine

Measure word · 颗

Examples

水雷。
Hǎi jūn zài gǎng kǒu fù jìn bù shè le shuǐ léi.
The navy deployed submarine mines near the port.
水雷。
Zhè sōu chuán bèi shuǐ léi zhà chén le.
This ship was sunk by a submarine mine.
水雷。
Sǎo léi tǐng zhèng zài sōu suǒ shuǐ léi.
The minesweeper is searching for submarine mines.

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.

The character for water specifies a mine placed in water.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

畾

畾léi雷léi

Same sound today

The top 雨 (rain) points to the meaning, and the bottom 畾 gives the sound.

Appears in

Military & Defense

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