洲际导弹 (zhōu jì dǎo dàn) — intercontinental missile

Definition

noun
intercontinental missile
Measure word · 枚

Examples

  • 洲际导弹。
    Guó jiā zhèng zài yán fā xīn xíng zhōu jì dǎo dàn.
    The country is developing a new type of intercontinental missile.
  • 洲际导弹。
    Zhè shì yì zhǒng shè chéng hěn yuǎn de zhōu jì dǎo dàn.
    This is a type of intercontinental missile with a very long range.
  • 洲际导弹。
    zhōu jì dǎo dàn De shè chéng chāo guò yí wàn gōng lǐ.
    The range of the intercontinental missile exceeds ten thousand kilometers.

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.

洲际intercontinental
洲zhōucontinent际jìbetween
偏正Modifier + head
导弹missile
导dǎoguide弹tánprojectile
偏正Modifier + head

The intercontinental sense of 洲际 and the guided missile sense of 导弹 combine to mean an intercontinental missile.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
州
州zhōu洲zhōu
Same sound today

洲 is built from 水 (water) and 州, which gives the sound.

Open 洲 →

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 際; 际 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
祭
祭jì際⁰jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 際 pairs 阝 with 祭: 阝 gives the meaning and 祭 gives the sound. The simplified 际 is a later shorthand.

Open 际 →

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 導; 导 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
道
道dào導
Same sound today

The traditional form 導 pairs 道 (path) as the sound part with 寸 (hand), giving the sense of leading someone. The simplified 导 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 导 →

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 彈; 弹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
弓弓gōng
Sound part声符shēngfú
單
單dān彈tán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 彈 pairs 弓 (bow) with the sound part 單; the simplified 弹 is a shorthand.

Open 弹 →

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