航母 (háng mǔ) — aircraft carrier

Definition

noun
aircraft carrier
Measure word · 艘

Examples

  • 航母。
    Zhè sōu háng mǔ shì hǎi jūn de zhǔ lì zhàn jiàn.
    This aircraft carrier is the navy's main warship.
  • 航母。
    háng mǔ Biān duì zhèng zài tài píng yáng zhí xíng rèn wu.
    The aircraft carrier strike group is carrying out a mission in the Pacific.
  • 航母。
    Jì zhě cān guān le zhè sōu xiān jìn de háng mǔ.
    The journalist toured this advanced aircraft carrier.

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.

航hángaviation
母mǔmother ship

航 stands for aviation, and 母 means mother ship, together naming a carrier for aircraft.

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.

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.

Open 航 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 母 →

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