穿透 (chuān tòu) — to penetrate; to pierce through

Definition

Literary/technical 'to penetrate, pierce through' — a single, completed action going all the way through an object (bullet, light, sound). More formal and physical than 穿, which is the everyday verb for threading or piercing.

verb
to penetrateto pierce through

Examples

  • 穿透。
    Zǐ dàn chuān tòu le gāng bǎn.
    The bullet penetrated the steel plate.
  • ，。
    Zhè ge cái liào hěn hòu, pǔ tōng zhēn chuān bú tòu.
    This material is very thick; an ordinary needle cannot pierce it.
  • 穿透。
    Yáng guāng chuān tòu yún céng zhào zài dà dì shàng.
    The sunlight penetrated the clouds and shone on the ground.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

穿chuānpierce
透tòuthrough

穿 (pierce) plus 透 (through) builds the sense of piercing completely through.

Characters in this word

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

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

Open 穿 →

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.

Open 透 →

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