城际 (chéng jì) — (adjective) inter-city; (noun) intercity (as in…

Definition

adjective

inter-city

noun

intercity (as in 城际列车, 城际交通)

Easily confused

城际，。
Wǒ zuò chéng jì liè chē qù shàng hǎi, zhǐ yòng le liǎng xiǎo shí.
I took the inter-city train to Shanghai, and it only took two hours.
城际。
Zhè tiáo chéng jì gāo sù lù lián jiē le sān gè zhǔ yào chéng shì.
This inter-city expressway connects three major cities.
城际。
chéng jì Gōng jiāo biàn lì le liǎng dì jū mín de wǎng lái.
Inter-city buses have made travel between the two places convenient for residents.

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.

际jìbetween

城 and 际 combine to mean between cities.

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.

土成城

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔsoil

Sound part声符shēngfú

成

Same sound today

城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.

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 際; 际 is its simplified writing.

阝祭際

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阝Written in full as阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

祭

祭jì際⁰jì

Same sound today

The traditional form 際 pairs 阝 with 祭: 阝 gives the meaning and 祭 gives the sound. The simplified 际 is a later shorthand.