多级 (duō jí) — multistage, multi-level

Definition

adjective
multistagemulti-level

Examples

  • 多级。
    Zhè ge duō jí huǒ jiàn kě yǐ fēi dé hěn gāo.
    This multistage rocket can fly very high.
  • 多级。
    Gōng sī cǎi yòng le duō jí guǎn lǐ mó shì.
    The company adopted a multi-level management model.
  • 多级。
    Zhè zhǒng duō jí kǎo shì zhì dù hěn yán gé.
    This kind of multistage examination system is very strict.

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.

多duōmany
级jílevels

多 conveys many, and 级 conveys levels or stages, giving multistage.

Characters in this word

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

多 originally showed two pieces of meat placed together; the repeated meat shape gives the sense of many.

Open 多 →

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 級; 级 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí級jí
Same sound today

The traditional form 級 has 糹 (thread) and 及 as a sound part; its original sense was a sequence related to silk. The simplified 级 is a later shorthand.

Open 级 →

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