声纳 (shēng nà) — sonar | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

sonar

Measure word · 个

Examples

声纳。
Zhè sōu qián tǐng zhuāng bèi le xiān jìn de shēng nà xì tǒng.
This submarine is equipped with an advanced sonar system.
声纳。
Kē xué jiā yòng shēng nà tàn cè hǎi dǐ dì xíng.
Scientists use sonar to map the ocean floor.
声纳。
Yú chuán kào shēng nà fā xiàn yú qún de wèi zhì.
Fishing boats rely on sonar to locate fish schools.

Origin

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

声纳 spells sonar; the characters carry no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

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 聲; 声 is its simplified writing.

殸耳聲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耳耳ěrear

Sound part声符shēngfú

殸

殸qìng聲shēng

Same sound today

The traditional form 聲 pairs 耳 (ear) with 殸 as a sound part; the simplified 声 is a shorthand and does not show those original parts.

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 納; 纳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìsilk, thin thread

Sound part声符shēngfú

内

Same sound today

The traditional form 納 has 糸 (silk, thin thread) and 内, which gives the sound; the simplified 纳 is a shorthand.

Appears in

Technology & Engineering

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