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流水线 (liú shuǐ xiàn) — assembly line

Definition

noun
assembly line
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 流水线。
    Gōng chǎng de liú shuǐ xiàn měi tiān shēng chǎn shàng qiān tái shǒu jī.
    The factory's assembly line produces thousands of phones every day.
  • 流水线，。
    Zhè zhǒng gōng zuò jiù xiàng zài liú shuǐ xiàn shàng yí yàng, chóng fù yòu dān diào.
    This kind of work is like being on an assembly line — repetitive and monotonous.
  • 流水线，。
    Tā men gǎi jìn le liú shuǐ xiàn, tí gāo le shēng chǎn xiào lǜ.
    They improved the assembly line and increased production efficiency.

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.

流水flowing water
流liúflow水shuǐwater
偏正Modifier + head
线xiànline

Flowing water 流水 suggests a continuous line 线, giving the idea of an assembly line.

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

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

Open 流 →

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 →

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 線; 线 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
泉
泉quán線xiàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 線 uses 糹 (silk/thread) to show the meaning and 泉 to suggest the sound; the simplified 线 is a later shorthand.

Open 线 →
Appears in
Industry & Manufacturing

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