车况 (chē kuàng) — vehicle condition; the state or quality of a car

Definition

noun
vehicle conditionthe state or quality of a car

Examples

  • 车况。
    Tā de chē kuàng hěn hǎo.
    His car is in good condition.
  • 车况？
    Nǐ jiǎn chá guò chē kuàng le ma?
    Did you check the car's condition?
  • 车况。
    Mǎi èr shǒu chē yào zhù yì chē kuàng.
    When buying a used car, pay attention to its condition.

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.

车chēvehicle
况kuàngcondition

车况 is the 况 of a 车, the condition of a vehicle.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 車; 车 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 車 was drawn as a carriage seen from above, with wheels on both sides and a shaft at the front; the simplified 车 is a later shorthand.

Open 车 →

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 況; 况 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐriver
Sound part声符shēngfú
兄
兄xiōng況kuàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 況 pairs 氵 (river) with 兄 as the sound part; the simplified 况 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 况 →

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