喷灌 (pēn guàn) — sprinkler irrigation, spray irrigation | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

sprinkler irrigationspray irrigation

Measure word · 种

Examples

喷灌。
Nóng mín shǐ yòng pēn guàn guàn gài nóng tián.
Farmers use sprinkler irrigation to water their fields.
喷灌。
Zhè tào pēn guàn xì tǒng hěn xiān jìn.
This sprinkler irrigation system is very advanced.
喷灌。
Tā men ān zhuāng le pēn guàn shè bèi.
They installed spray irrigation equipment.

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.

灌guànirrigate

喷 describes spraying, and 灌 means irrigation.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 噴; 喷 is its simplified writing.

口賁噴

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

賁

賁bì噴pēn

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

The traditional form 噴 pairs 口, mouth, with 賁 for the sound; the simplified 喷 is a later shorthand.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

雚

雚guàn灌guàn

Same sound today

灌 pairs its water part with 雚, which gives the character its sound.

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