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信号 (xìn hào) — signal (traffic light or indicator); signal (electronic, e.g. phone or TV)

Definition

信号 (xìnhào) means a physical signal — a traffic light, phone or TV signal. Unlike 手势 (a hand gesture) or 示意 (to hint non-verbally), it refers to the signal itself, not the act of signaling.

noun
signal (traffic light or indicator)signal (electronic, e.g. phone or TV)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 信号，。
    Qián miàn yǒu xìn hào, wǒ men děng yí xià.
    There's a signal ahead, let's wait a moment.
  • 信号，。
    Shǒu jī xìn hào bù hǎo, wǒ tīng bù qīng nǐ shuō huà.
    The phone signal is bad, I can't hear you clearly.
  • 信号，。
    Diàn shì xìn hào duàn le, huà miàn kàn bú dào le.
    The TV signal cut out, the picture is gone.

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.

信xìnmessage
号hàosignal

信 (message) and 号 (signal) together name a signal that carries a message.

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
言言yánwords
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén信xìn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

信 pairs 人 as the sound part with 言 (words) as the meaning part.

Open 信 →

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

  • 口口kǒumouth
  • 丂丂kǎoexhaled air; a tiger's cry

The shape 号 comes from 口, a mouth, and 丂, exhaled air or a tiger's cry.

Open 号 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 5Phones & Telecom2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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