地勤 (dì qín) — ground service (aviation ground crew and ground-handling operations)

Definition

Refers to the airport ground crew and the work they do — baggage, boarding, aircraft servicing — the people and operations that keep flights running between flights.

noun
ground service (aviation ground crew and ground-handling operations)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 地勤。
    dì qín Rén yuán zài jī chǎng gōng zuò hěn xīn kǔ.
    Ground service personnel work very hard at the airport.
  • ，地勤。
    Fēi jī wǎn diǎn le, dì qín zhèng zài ān pái lǚ kè zhù sù.
    The flight is delayed, and ground service is arranging accommodation for passengers.
  • 地勤。
    Wǒ shū shu yǐ qián zài háng kōng gōng sī zuò dì qín.
    My uncle used to work in ground service for an airline.

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.

地dìground
勤qínwork/service

地勤 names work on the ground: 地 is the ground, and 勤 is the work or service done there.

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 勤 →

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