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缓冲器 (huǎn chōng qì) — buffer (device that absorbs shock or impact); bumper (on a vehicle)

Definition

noun
buffer (device that absorbs shock or impact)bumper (on a vehicle)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 缓冲器。
    Zhè ge huǎn chōng qì kě yǐ bǎo hù jī qì bú shòu sǔn huài.
    This buffer can protect the machine from damage.
  • 缓冲器，。
    Qì chē de huǎn chōng qì huài le, xū yào huàn yí gè xīn de.
    The car's bumper is broken and needs to be replaced with a new one.
  • 缓冲器。
    Gōng chéng shī shè jì le yí gè xīn xíng huǎn chōng qì.
    The engineer designed a new type of buffer.

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.

缓冲
缓huǎnslow冲chōngimpact
动宾Verb + object
器qìdevice

缓 and 冲 describe slowing an impact, while 器 is the device that does so.

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 緩; 缓 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
爰
爰yuán緩huǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 緩 pairs 糸 (silk) with 爰, which gives the sound; the simplified 缓 is a later shorthand.

Open 缓 →

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 衝; 冲 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 冲 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (冲, 冲动) it is 衝; in others (冲) it is 沖.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng衝chōng
Same sound today

The traditional form 衝 shows 重 inside 行, with 行 as the meaning part and 重 as the sound part; the simplified 冲 is a later shorthand.

Open 冲 →

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

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.

Open 器 →
Appears in
Miscellaneous ObjectsVehicles

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