专线 (zhuān xiàn) — dedicated line (telephone, bus, railway, etc.);…

Definition

noun

dedicated line (telephone, bus, railway, etc.)hotline (customer service or special-purpose phone line)

Measure word · 条

专线。
Qǐng bō dǎ kè fú zhuān xiàn zī xún wèn tí.
Please call the customer service hotline to ask questions.
专线。
Zhè tiáo gōng jiāo zhuān xiàn zhí dá jī chǎng.
This bus line goes directly to the airport.
专线。
Tiě lù gōng sī kāi tōng le yì tiáo huò yùn zhuān xiàn.
The railway company opened a dedicated freight line.

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.

专 means dedicated, and 线 is a line, so 专线 is a special line for a particular service.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 專; 专 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 專 shows 又, a hand, turning 叀, a spindle; this came to mean gathering several things into one.

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 線; 线 is its simplified writing.

糹泉線

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糹Written in full as糸mì

Sound part声符shēngfú

泉

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 線 uses 糹 (silk/thread) to show the meaning and 泉 to suggest the sound; the simplified 线 is a later shorthand.

Appears in