穿透力 (chuān tòu lì) — penetrating power; penetrative ability | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

penetrating powerpenetrative ability

Examples

X穿透力。
X guāng de chuān tòu lì hěn qiáng.
X-rays have strong penetrating power.
穿透力。
Tā de shēng yīn yǒu hěn qiáng de chuān tòu lì.
His voice has great penetrating power.
穿透力。
Zhè piān píng lùn de chuān tòu lì lìng rén yìn xiàng shēn kè.
The penetrating power of this commentary is impressive.

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.

穿透penetrate

穿chuānpierce透tòuthrough

补充Verb + complement

穿透 describes piercing through, and 力 gives the sense of power, so the sense is penetrating power.

Characters in this word

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

穴牙穿

穴穴xuécave
牙牙yátooth

穿 puts 穴 (cave) and 牙 (tooth) together to show passing through or penetrating.

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

辵辵chuòwalking

Sound part声符shēngfú

秀

秀xiù透tòu

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape 透 has 辵, a walking part, and 秀, which provides the sound.

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

力 is drawn as either an arm bending out from the side of the body or a wooden plough.

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