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积水 (jī shuǐ) — (noun) accumulated water, standing water; (verb-object, 离合词) (of water) to accumulate

Definition

A separable verb-object (离合词): 积 ('accumulate') + 水 ('water') — used as a noun for standing/flood water, or as a verb meaning 'water accumulates'. Insert measure words or 了很多 between the two characters when used verbally.

noun
accumulated waterstanding water(verb-object, 离合词) (of water) to accumulate
Measure word · 滩

Examples

  • 积水。
    Yǔ hòu lù miàn shàng chū xiàn le dà liàng jī shuǐ.
    A large amount of standing water appeared on the road after the rain.
  • 积水，。
    Zhè duàn lù róng yì jī shuǐ, kāi chē yào xiǎo xīn.
    This section of road is prone to flooding; be careful when driving.
  • ，。
    Yuàn zi lǐ jī le hěn duō shuǐ, dé gǎn jǐn pái diào.
    A lot of water has accumulated in the yard; it needs to be drained quickly.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

积jīgather
水shuǐwater

积 means gather and 水 means water, together indicating water that gathers or accumulated water.

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 積; 积 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
責
責zé積jī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 積 pairs 禾 (grain) with 責, which gives the sound; the simplified 积 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 积 →

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →
Appears in
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