全线 (quán xiàn) — the entire length; the whole line; all fronts

Definition

Refers to an entire linear route — a road, rail line, or pipeline — from one end to the other, as in 全线通车 ('the whole line is open'). Often appears in news/report contexts rather than everyday speech.

noun
the entire lengththe whole lineall fronts
Easily confused

Examples

  • 全线。
    Zhè tiáo dì tiě quán xiàn yǐ jīng tōng chē le.
    This subway line is fully operational.
  • ，全线。
    Yóu yú dà xuě, tiě lù quán xiàn bèi fēng suǒ.
    The entire railway line is blocked due to heavy snow.
  • 全线。
    Gōng chéng shī men duì shū yóu guǎn dào quán xiàn jìn xíng le jiǎn chá.
    The engineers inspected the entire oil pipeline.

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.

全quánwhole
线xiànline

“全” means whole and “线” means line, so the word refers to the entire line or all fronts.

Characters in this word

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

The shape puts 入 together with 玉 to show a whole piece of jade, so it means complete or whole.

Open 全 →

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 線; 线 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
泉
泉quán線xiàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 線 uses 糹 (silk/thread) to show the meaning and 泉 to suggest the sound; the simplified 线 is a later shorthand.

Open 线 →

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