滑车 (huá chē) — pulley

Definition

noun
pulley
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 滑车。
    Tā yòng huá chē bǎ xiāng zi diào qǐ lái.
    He used a pulley to lift the box.
  • 滑车。
    Tā lì yòng huá chē zuò bèi bù xùn liàn.
    He uses a pulley for back training.
  • 滑车。
    huá chē Shì yì zhǒng jiǎn dān de jī xiè zhuāng zhì.
    A pulley is a simple mechanical device.

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.

滑huásliding
车chēmachine

滑 means sliding and 车 means machine, together giving a pulley.

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

滑 pairs 水 (water) with 骨, which gives the sound.

Open 滑 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 車; 车 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 車 was drawn as a carriage seen from above, with wheels on both sides and a shaft at the front; the simplified 车 is a later shorthand.

Open 车 →

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