驾机 (jià jī) — to pilot an aircraft, to fly a plane (formal, esp. military)

Definition

Formal/literary verb meaning 'to pilot an aircraft,' chiefly used in military or newswriting contexts — far less common in everyday speech than 驾驶飞机. 驾 pairs with 机 here as a set-style compound, not a separable verb.

verb
to pilot an aircraftto fly a plane (formal, esp. military)

Examples

  • ，驾机。
    Tā shì yí wèi jīng yàn fēng fù de fēi xíng yuán, jīng cháng jià jī zhí xíng rèn wu.
    He is an experienced pilot and often flies planes on missions.
  • ，。
    Tā jīn tiān jià le sān cì jī, fēi cháng lèi.
    He piloted a plane three times today and was very tired.
  • ，驾机。
    Zài zhàn zhēng zhōng, tā jià jī chéng gōng jī luò le dí jī.
    During the war, he successfully shot down an enemy plane while piloting.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

驾jiàpilot/drive
机jīaircraft

驾 means to pilot and 机 means aircraft, together meaning to pilot a plane.

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 駕; 驾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎ
Sound part声符shēngfú
加
加jiā駕jià
Same sound today

In the traditional form 駕, 馬 relates to a horse, and 加 gives the sound; this story is about 駕, not the simplified 驾.

Open 驾 →

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
木木mùtree; wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ机jī
Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Open 机 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.