航天 (háng tiān) — space flight; aerospace | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

航天 refers specifically to spaceflight / aerospace — travel beyond Earth's atmosphere. Contrast with 航空 (aviation, within the atmosphere) and 航海 (sailing the seas).

verb

space flightaerospace

Examples

航天。
Zhōng guó de háng tiān shì yè fā zhǎn dé hěn kuài.
China's space program is developing very quickly.
航天。
Tā cóng xiǎo jiù duì háng tiān gǎn xìng qù.
He has been interested in space flight since childhood.
。
háng tiān Yuán xū yào jīng guò yán gé de xùn liàn.
Astronauts need to undergo rigorous training.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

航hángnavigate

“航” means to navigate and “天” refers to sky or space, together describing flight in space.

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.

舟亢航

Meaning part形符xíngfú

舟舟zhōuboat

Sound part声符shēngfú

亢

亢kàng航háng

Same sound today

航 shows a boat with 舟, and 亢 gives the character its sound.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng天tiān

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

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Space Exploration

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