千瓦 (qiān wǎ) — (measure word) kilowatt

Definition

Unit of power equal to 1,000 watts, written 'kW' in English. Often used for appliances, engines, and electrical output — a larger unit than 瓦 (watt).

classifier
kilowatt

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè tái kōng tiáo de gōng lǜ shì liǎng qiān wǎ.
    The power of this air conditioner is two kilowatts.
  • 千瓦。
    Gōng chǎng mǎi le yí gè wǔ bǎi qiān wǎ de fā diàn jī.
    The factory bought a generator with a capacity of five hundred kilowatts.
  • 千瓦。
    Zhè ge tài yáng néng xì tǒng měi xiǎo shí néng fā shí qiān wǎ diàn.
    This solar system can generate ten kilowatts of electricity per hour.

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.

千qiānthousand
瓦wǎwatt

千瓦 combines thousand and watt, naming the unit kilowatt.

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
一一yīone, signifying a number
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén千qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

千 pairs 人, whose sound was similar, with 一, a number stroke; the extra line was explained as extension, and a thousand is a number reached by extending counting.

Open 千 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

瓦’s shape is a picture of fired earthenware pottery or a tile.

Open 瓦 →

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