双翼 (shuāng yì) — double wings, both wings (literal or figurative)

Definition

双翼 literally means 'both wings' of one creature or machine. The example 研发的研发和市场是公司腾飞的双翼 extends it figuratively to two driving forces behind growth.

noun
double wingsboth wings (literal or figurative)

Examples

  • 双翼,。
    Lǎo yīng zhǎn kāi shuāng yì, fēi xiàng yuǎn fāng.
    The eagle spread its wings and flew into the distance.
  • 双翼。
    Yán fā hé shì chǎng shì gōng sī téng fēi de shuāng yì.
    R&D and marketing are the two wings for the company's takeoff.
  • 双翼。
    Fēi jī de shuāng yì zài yáng guāng xià shǎn shǎn fā guāng.
    The plane's two wings glistened in the sunlight.

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.

双shuāngpair; both
翼yìwing

“双” gives the sense of a pair or both, and “翼” means wing, yielding two wings or both wings.

Characters in this word

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

双 is made of two 又 parts side by side. Repeating 又 gives the sense of a pair.

Open 双 →

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
Sound part声符shēngfú
異
異yì翼yì
Same sound today

翼 combines 羽 (feathers/wings) with 異, which supplies the sound.

Open 翼 →
Appears in

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