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停电 (tíng diàn) — to have a power outage; to cut off electricity

Definition

停电 (tíng diàn) is a separable verb meaning 'to have a power outage' — the object 电 splits off, e.g. 停了两个小时的电. It describes the event or the planned cut, not a device.

verb
to have a power outageto cut off electricity

Examples

  • 停电。
    Zuó tiān wǎn shàng wǒ men xiǎo qū tíng diàn le.
    Last night, our neighborhood had a power outage.
  • 。
    Míng tiān shàng wǔ yào tíng liǎng gè xiǎo shí de diàn.
    Tomorrow morning there will be a two-hour power outage.
  • 。
    Zhè ge yuè yǐ jīng tíng le sān cì diàn le.
    This month, we've already had three power outages.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

停tíngstop
电diànelectricity

“停” means stop and “电” means electricity, so together they describe stopping the flow of electricity.

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rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
亭
亭tíng停tíng
Same sound today

The left side 亻 is a person, and the right side 亭 gives the sound tíng; this forms 停.

Open 停 →

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 電; 电 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn電diàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 電, 雨 (rain) sits with 申, read shēn and meaning lightning.

Open 电 →
Appears in
Energy & Power

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