鱼雷 (yú léi) — torpedo | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

torpedo

Measure word · 枚

Examples

鱼雷。
Nà sōu qián tǐng fā shè le yì méi yú léi.
That submarine launched a torpedo.
鱼雷。
yú léi Xùn sù jī zhòng le dí jiàn de chuán wěi.
The torpedo quickly hit the stern of the enemy ship.
鱼雷。
Hǎi jūn yǎn xí zhōng yòng yú léi gōng jī mù biāo.
The navy used torpedoes to attack targets during the exercise.

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.

雷léithunder

'鱼' and '雷' suggest a fish-like underwater explosive device.

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 魚; 鱼 is its simplified writing.

For 鱼, the traditional form 魚 is a picture of a fish.

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

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

畾

畾léi雷léi

Same sound today

The top 雨 (rain) points to the meaning, and the bottom 畾 gives the sound.

Appears in

Military & Defense

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