余弦 (yú xián) — cosine | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

cosine

Examples

余弦。
Jīn tiān wǒ men xué le yú xián de dìng yì.
Today we learned the definition of cosine.
余弦0.5。
Zhè ge sān jiǎo xíng de yú xián shì 0. 5.
The cosine of this triangle is 0.5.
余弦。
Yòng yú xián gōng shì kě yǐ qiú cháng dù.
You can find the length using the cosine formula.

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.

余yúcomplementary

余 (complementary) and 弦 (chord) give the mathematical name for cosine.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 餘; 余 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

余

余yú餘Yú

Same sound today

The traditional form 餘 pairs 食 (food) with 余 as its sound part; the simplified 余 is a later abbreviation.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

弓玄弦

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

玄

玄xuán弦xián

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

弦 uses 弓 (bow) to show what it is about and 玄 to show how it is pronounced.

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