船舶 (chuán bó) — (collective) ships, vessels; shipping (industry) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

船舶 is the formal, written collective term for ships and vessels, especially in trade or industry contexts. 船只 is the more colloquial synonym; 航运 refers to the shipping industry/transport activity itself.

noun

(collective) shipsvesselsshipping (industry)

Measure word · 艘

Examples

船舶。
Zhè sōu chuán bó shì xīn de.
This ship is new.
船舶。
Quán qiú chuán bó mào yì hěn zhòng yào.
Global shipping trade is very important.
船舶。
Zhè sōu chuán bó zhǔ yào yùn shū shí yóu.
This ship mainly transports oil.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

舶bóship

船 (boat) and 舶 (ship) together name vessels in general.

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

舟白舶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

舟舟zhōuboat

Sound part声符shēngfú

白

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

舶 pairs 舟 (boat) with 白 (bái), which gives it its sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6

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