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电量 (diàn liàng) — amount of electric charge; battery level

Definition

电量 refers to how much electrical charge a battery holds — used in everyday tech talk about phone, laptop, or power-bank battery level. Not the same as 电压 (voltage) or 电流 (current).

noun
amount of electric chargebattery level

Examples

  • 电量。
    Wǒ de shǒu jī diàn liàng kuài yòng wán le.
    My phone battery is almost dead.
  • 电量。
    Zhè ge chōng diàn bǎo de diàn liàng kě yǐ chōng liǎng cì shǒu jī.
    This power bank can charge a phone twice.
  • 电量。
    Diàn chí de diàn liàng dān wèi shì ān péi xiǎo shí.
    The unit of battery charge is ampere-hour.

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.

电diànelectricity
量liángamount

电 gives electricity and 量 gives amount, so the word means the amount of electricity.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 電; 电 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn電diàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 電, 雨 (rain) sits with 申, read shēn and meaning lightning.

Open 电 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 日日rìsun
  • 東東dōngbag; east

量 has 日 (sun) over 東 (bag; east). Some explanations suggest measuring under the sun or the sun rising in the east, but the exact origin is unclear.

Open 量 →
Appears in
Energy & Power

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