乘积 (chéng jī) — product (in mathematics)

Definition

noun
product (in mathematics)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 乘积。
    Liǎng gè shù de chéng jī děng yú tā men de jī.
    The product of two numbers equals their multiplication result.
  • 乘积。
    Zhè ge gōng shì yòng lái jì suàn jǔ zhèn de chéng jī.
    This formula is used to compute the product of matrices.
  • 乘积。
    Wǒ men xué xí le rú hé qiú liǎng gè duō xiàng shì de chéng jī.
    We learned how to find the product of two polynomials.

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.

乘chéngmultiply
积jīproduct

乘积 is the product of multiplication; 乘 gives the multiplying idea and 积 gives the product.

Characters in this word

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

乘 was drawn as a person climbing a tree, with the feet visible.

Open 乘 →

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 積; 积 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
責
責zé積jī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 積 pairs 禾 (grain) with 責, which gives the sound; the simplified 积 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 积 →

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