呼吸器 (hū xī qì) — respirator | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

respirator

Measure word · 个

Examples

呼吸器。
Yī shēng gěi bìng rén dài shàng le hū xī qì.
The doctor put a respirator on the patient.
呼吸器。
Xiāo fáng yuán gōng zuò shí bì xū pèi dài hū xī qì.
Firefighters must wear a respirator while working.
呼吸器。
Qián shuǐ yuán zài shuǐ xià kào hū xī qì hū xī.
Divers breathe underwater using a respirator.

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.

呼吸breathing

呼hūexhale吸xīinhale

联合Coordinate

器qìdevice

呼 is exhaling and 吸 inhaling, while 器 names a device for breathing.

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.

口乎呼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

乎

乎hū呼hū

Same sound today

呼 uses 口 (mouth) to show exhaling, calling, or shouting, and 乎 gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

口及吸

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

及

及jí吸xī

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

吸 pairs 口 (mouth) with 及, which gives the sound and relates to grabbing, so the shape suggests grabbing through the mouth.

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

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.

Appears in

Medicine & Treatment

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