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直径 (zhí jìng) — diameter

Definition

直径 is the precise geometric/mathematical 'diameter' — the straight line through the center of a circle. 口径 refers to the bore or opening of a tube, gun, or pipe (and figuratively, one's stance or official line).

noun
diameter

Examples

  • 直径。
    Qǐng cè liáng zhè ge yuán xíng zhuō miàn de zhí jìng.
    Please measure the diameter of this round tabletop.
  • 直径24.6。
    Biāo zhǔn lán qiú de zhí jìng yuē wèi 24. 6 lí mǐ.
    The diameter of a standard basketball is about 24.6 cm.
  • 直径？
    Liǎng gè yuán de zhí jìng xiāng děng ma?
    Are the diameters of the two circles equal?

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.

直zhístraight
径jìngline

直 means straight, and 径 means line or path; together they denote the straight line across a circle.

Characters in this word

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

The earliest form of 直 pairs 目, an eye, with an unclear stroke 丨.

Open 直 →

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 徑; 径 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng徑
Same sound today

The traditional form 徑 is built from 彳 and 巠, with 巠 giving the sound; the simplified 径 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 径 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Shapes

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