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自控 (zì kòng) — automatic control (attributive); self-control (attributive)

Definition

Short for 自动控制 ('automatic control') or 自我控制 ('self-control'), used attributively before a noun. The examples show two senses: machine/system control and personal willpower — pick by context.

adjective
automatic control (attributive)self-control (attributive)

Examples

  • 自控。
    Zhè ge zì kòng xì tǒng fēi cháng xiān jìn.
    This automatic control system is very advanced.
  • 自控。
    Tā quē fá zì kòng néng lì.
    He lacks self-control ability.
  • 自控。
    zì kòng Jì shù zài gōng yè zhōng yìng yòng guǎng fàn.
    Automatic control technology is widely used in industry.

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.

自zìself
控kòngcontrol

自 means self and 控 means control, so the meaning is control of oneself.

Characters in this word

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
空
空kōng控kòng
Same sound today

The left part is 手 written as 扌, showing a hand; the right part 空 gives the sound.

Open 控 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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