车轮 (chē lún) — wheel (of a vehicle) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

wheel (of a vehicle)

Measure word · 个

Examples

车轮。
Zhè ge zì xíng chē de chē lún huài le.
This bicycle's wheel is broken.
车轮。
Qì chē yǒu sì gè chē lún.
A car has four wheels.
车轮。
chē lún Zài dì shàng zhuàn dé hěn kuài.
The wheel turns very fast on the ground.

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

轮lúnwheel

车 (vehicle) specifies the kind of 轮 (wheel), giving a wheel 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 輪; 轮 is its simplified writing.

車侖輪

Meaning part形符xíngfú

車車jūcarriage

Sound part声符shēngfú

侖

侖lún輪lún

Same sound today

The traditional form 輪 uses 車, a carriage, and 侖 for the sound; the simplified 轮 is a later shorthand.

Open 轮 →