预科 (yù kē) — preparatory course (for college) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

preparatory course (for college)

Examples

预科。
Tā zhèng zài dú dà xué yù kē.
He is currently in a university preparatory course.
预科。
Zhè ge xué xiào de yù kē kè chéng fēi cháng yǒu míng.
This school's preparatory course is very famous.
预科。
Hěn duō xué shēng shàng yù kē shì wèi le kǎo shàng hǎo dà xué.
Many students take a preparatory course in order to get into a good university.

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.

预yùbefore

科kēcourse

The 预 (before) and 科 (course) combine to mean a preparatory course.

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 預; 预 is its simplified writing.

予頁預

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yè

Sound part声符shēngfú

予

予yǔ預yù

Same sound today

The traditional form 預 combines 予 for the sound and 頁 for the meaning; the simplified 预 is a later shorthand.

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

禾斗科

Meaning part形符xíngfú

斗斗dòumeasuring tool

Sound part声符shēngfú

禾

禾hé科kē

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

科 pairs 禾, which gives the hé sound, with 斗, a measuring tool.

Appears in

School & Education

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