夜航 (yè háng) — night flight (aviation); night navigation (maritime)

Definition

noun
night flight (aviation)night navigation (maritime)

Examples

  • 夜航。
    Zhè tàng yè háng háng bān jiāng zài líng chén liǎng diǎn qǐ fēi.
    This night flight will take off at 2 a.m.
  • 夜航，。
    Chuán zhǎng yǒu fēng fù de yè háng jīng yàn, néng yìng duì gè zhǒng tiān qì.
    The captain has extensive experience in night navigation and can handle all kinds of weather.
  • 夜航，。
    Wǒ men xuǎn zé le yè háng, yīn wèi bái tiān méi yǒu shí jiān.
    We chose the night flight because we had no time during the day.

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.

夜yènight
航hángnavigation

夜 describes the 航 as taking place at night.

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
夕夕xīmoon
Sound part声符shēngfú
亦
亦yì夜yè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 夜 pairs 亦 as a sound part with 夕 as a moon part, for night. In the modern shape, the 亦 part is broken up and one stroke merges into 夕.

Open 夜 →

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
舟舟zhōuboat
Sound part声符shēngfú
亢
亢kàng航háng
Same sound today

航 shows a boat with 舟, and 亢 gives the character its sound.

Open 航 →

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