波长 (bō cháng) — wavelength | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

wavelength

Examples

波长。
Bù tóng yán sè de guāng yǒu bù tóng de bō cháng.
Light of different colors has different wavelengths.
波长。
Kē xué jiā tōng guò cè liáng bō cháng lái fēn xī guāng de xìng zhì.
Scientists analyze the properties of light by measuring wavelength.
波长。
Zhè ge shí yàn xū yào jīng què dì jì suàn bō de bō cháng.
This experiment requires precise calculation of the wave's wavelength.

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.

长chánglength

波 'wave' and 长 'length' combine as the length of a wave, giving wavelength.

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.

氵皮波

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

皮pí波bō

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

The left side 氵 is water, and the right side 皮 gives the sound.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Appears in

Physics & Chemistry

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