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空运 (kōng yùn) — (noun) air transport, air freight; (verb) to transport by air, to ship by air

Definition

noun
air transportair freight
verb
to transport by airto ship by air

Examples

  • 空运。
    Zhè pī huò wù shì kōng yùn lái de.
    This batch of goods was shipped by air.
  • 空运。
    Gōng sī tí gōng kōng yùn fú wù.
    The company offers air transport services.
  • 空运。
    Wǒ men zhǔn bèi kōng yùn zhè pī huò wù.
    We plan to air-freight this batch of goods.

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.

空kōngair
运yùntransport

空 marks air, and 运 means transport, giving air transport.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave, hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng空kōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Open 空 →

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 運; 运 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòmotion
Sound part声符shēngfú
軍
軍jūn運yùn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 運 combines 辵, meaning motion, with 軍 to give the sound; the simplified 运 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 运 →
Appears in
Air TravelVehicles

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