发明家 (fā míng jiā) — inventor | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

inventor

Measure word · 个

发明家。
Tā shì yí wèi zhù míng de fā míng jiā.
He is a famous inventor.
发明家。
Zhè wèi fā míng jiā fā míng le hěn duō yǒu yòng de dōng xī.
This inventor invented many useful things.
发明家。
Tā de mèng xiǎng shì chéng wéi yì míng fā míng jiā.
Her dream is to become an inventor.

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

发明invent

补充Verb + complement

发明 means invent; 家 denotes a person.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

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

日月明

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

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

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢑓

𢑓𢑓家jiā

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

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