主叫 (zhǔ jiào) — (verb) to make a call (as the calling party)

Definition

Technical/telecom term for the party who initiates a phone call (the caller, not the recipient 被叫). Mostly used in service descriptions and billing contexts.

verb
to make a call (as the calling party)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 主叫。
    Tā zhǔ jiào le sān cì dōu méi rén jiē.
    He called three times but no one answered.
  • 主叫，。
    Qǐng xiān zhǔ jiào, rán hòu děng dài duì fāng jiē tīng.
    Please call first, then wait for the other party to answer.
  • 主叫。
    zhǔ jiào Shí yào zhù yì tōng huà shí jiān.
    When making a call, pay attention to the call duration.

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.

主zhǔmain
叫jiàocall

主 “main” + 叫 “call” denotes the call made by the calling side.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū叫jiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叫 shows a mouth 口 and a sound part 丩. The mouth fits the old sense of shouting.

Open 叫 →

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