汽笛 (qì dí) — steam whistle, siren | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

steam whistlesiren

Measure word · 个

。
Yuǎn chù chuán lái huǒ chē de qì dí shēng.
The sound of a train whistle came from afar.
汽笛。
Lún chuán de qì dí xiǎng le sān shēng.
The ship's whistle sounded three times.
汽笛。
Gōng chǎng lǐ de qì dí měi tiān xià wǔ sì diǎn zhǔn shí xiǎng qǐ.
The factory siren sounds precisely at 4 pm every day.

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.

笛díwhistle

汽 refers to steam and 笛 to a whistle, so the word names a steam whistle or siren.

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.

氵气汽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

Same sound today

The 氵 part is water, and 气 is used for the sound and also means air, so 汽 shows water in an air-like form.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

竹由笛

Meaning part形符xíngfú

竹竹zhúbamboo

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

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

笛 pairs 竹 (bamboo) with 由 as a sound part. The bamboo part shows the object is made of bamboo.

Appears in