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船底 (chuán de) — bottom of a ship; hull bottom

Definition

noun
bottom of a shiphull bottom
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 船底，。
    chuán de Xū yào dìng qī jiǎn chá, fáng zhǐ shēng xiù.
    The ship's bottom needs regular inspection to prevent rust.
  • 船底。
    Qián shuǐ yuán zhèng zài qīng lǐ chuán de shàng de fù zhuó wù.
    Divers are cleaning the attachments on the ship's bottom.
  • 船底，。
    chuán de Lòu shuǐ le, bì xū mǎ shàng jìn wù xiū lǐ.
    The ship's bottom is leaking and must be dry-docked for repair immediately.

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.

船chuánship
底dǐbottom

船 (ship) and 底 (bottom) combine to mean the bottom part of a ship.

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

船 pairs 舟 (boat) with 㕣 for its sound.

Open 船 →

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
广广guǎngbuilding
Sound part声符shēngfú
氐
氐dī底dǐ
Same sound today

底 pairs 广 (building) with 氐, pointing to the bottom or foundation of a building. Some read 氐 as a bowing figure or tree root, adding a sense of 'down'.

Open 底 →
Appears in
Boats & Water Travel

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