监测器 (jiān cè qì) — monitor (device that tracks or observes continuously)

Definition

A monitoring device that tracks or measures something continuously over time (heartbeat, pollution, safety). It is the equipment itself, not the act of monitoring (which is 监测 or 监控).

noun
monitor (device that tracks or observes continuously)
Measure word · 台

Examples

  • 监测器。
    Yī shēng yòng jiān cè qì guān chá bìng rén de xīn tiào.
    The doctor uses a monitor to observe the patient's heartbeat.
  • 监测器。
    Zhè ge jiān cè qì kě yǐ jiǎn cè kōng qì zhōng de wū rǎn.
    This monitor can detect pollution in the air.
  • 监测器。
    Gōng chǎng ān zhuāng le xīn de ān quán jiān cè qì.
    The factory installed a new safety monitor.

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.

监测monitor
监jiānsupervise测cèmeasure
联合Coordinate
器qìdevice

监 and 测 give watching and measuring; 器 is a device, so it is a device that monitors.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 監; 监 is its simplified writing.

  • 臥臥wòa person with an emphasized eye
  • 皿皿mǐncontainer

The traditional form 監 shows 臥, a person with an emphasized eye, looking into 皿, a container; the simplified 监 is a later shorthand.

Open 监 →

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 測; 测 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
則
則zé測cè
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 測 combines 氵 (water) with 則 for the sound; it is explained as measuring the depth of water. The simplified 测 is a later shorthand.

Open 测 →

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

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.

Open 器 →

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