磁带 (cí dài) — magnetic tape; cassette tape | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

磁带 (cídài) is 'magnetic tape / cassette tape' for audio or data recording. Don't confuse with 胶带 (jiāodài), which is adhesive tape — the 磁 character signals magnetism, not stickiness.

noun

magnetic tapecassette tape

Measure word · 盘, 盒

Examples

磁带。
Zhè pán cí dài lǐ de yīn yuè hěn hǎo tīng.
The music on this cassette tape is very nice.
磁带。
Wǒ mǎi le liǎng hé kòng bái cí dài.
I bought two boxes of blank tapes.
磁带。
Tā jiā lǐ hái yǒu hěn duō lǎo cí dài.
He still has many old tapes at home.

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.

磁címagnetic

磁 gives the magnetic property, and 带 is the tape-like strip.

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.

石兹磁

Meaning part形符xíngfú

石石shírock; stone

Sound part声符shēngfú

兹

兹zī磁cí

Same sound today

磁 is built from 石, meaning rock or stone, and 兹, which gives the sound.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 帶; 带 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 帶 was drawn as a woven belt; the simplified 带 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Technology & Engineering

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