舰队 (jiàn duì) — fleet (of warships or ships); naval force

Definition

noun

fleet (of warships or ships)naval force

Measure word · 支

舰队。
Zhè jiàn duì yóu shí sōu jūn jiàn zǔ chéng.
This fleet consists of ten warships.
舰队。
Měi guó jiàn duì zài tài píng yáng xún luó.
The US fleet patrols the Pacific Ocean.
舰队。
Wǒ men jiàn duì yǐ jīng chū fā le.
Our fleet has already set off.

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.

队duìgroup; force

舰 means warship and 队 means a group or force, giving a fleet of warships.

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 艦; 舰 is its simplified writing.

舟監艦

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

監

監jiān艦⁰jiàn

Same sound today

The traditional form 艦 pairs 舟 (boat) with 監 to give the sound; the simplified 舰 is a shorthand and its right side is not the historical sound part.

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 隊; 队 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阜阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

㒸

㒸㒸隊duì

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

The traditional form 隊 has 阜 as the meaning part and 㒸 as the sound part.

Appears in