仰角 (yǎng jiǎ) — angle of elevation

Definition

'Angle of elevation' — the upward angle measured from the horizontal to a point above (a satellite, a mountain peak). Contrast with 俯角, the downward angle to a point below.

noun
angle of elevation
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 仰角。
    Zhè ge yǎng jiǎ shì sì shí wǔ dù.
    This angle of elevation is 45 degrees.
  • 仰角。
    Gōng chéng shī jì suàn le wèi xīng de yǎng jiǎ.
    The engineer calculated the satellite's angle of elevation.
  • 仰角。
    Pāi zhào piàn shí yào tiáo zhěng yǎng jiǎ.
    When taking photos, you need to adjust the angle of elevation.

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.

仰yǎnglook up
角jiǎoangle

The 仰 direction of looking up specifies the 角 angle, giving the angle of elevation.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
卬
卬áng仰yǎng
Same sound today

In 仰, the left part 亻 represents a person, and the right part 卬 gives the sound.

Open 仰 →

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

The form 角 is a picture of a horn.

Open 角 →

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