光速 (guāng sù) — speed of light | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

speed of light

Examples

光速。
guāng sù Měi miǎo yuē sān shí wàn gōng lǐ.
The speed of light is about 300,000 kilometers per second.
光速。
Kē xué jiā men yì zhí zài yán jiū rú hé dá dào guāng sù.
Scientists have been studying how to reach the speed of light.
，光速。
Zài yǔ zhòu zhōng, méi yǒu shén me bǐ guāng sù gèng kuài.
In the universe, nothing is faster than the speed of light.

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.

光 means light and 速 means speed; together they mean the speed of light.

Characters in this word

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

火火huǒfire
卩卩jiékneeling person

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

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

辵辵chuò

Sound part声符shēngfú

束

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

速 pairs 辵, the walking part, with 束, which is used for its sound; the walking part fits the meaning of moving fast.

Appears in

Physics & Chemistry

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