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大气层 (dà qì céng) — atmosphere (of a planet)

Definition

noun
atmosphere (of a planet)
Measure word · 层

Examples

  • 大气层。
    Dì qiú de dà qì céng hěn hòu.
    The Earth's atmosphere is very thick.
  • 大气层。
    Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū dà qì céng de chéng fèn.
    Scientists are studying the composition of the atmosphere.
  • 大气层。
    Zhè céng dà qì céng bǎo hù wǒ men bú shòu tài yáng fú shè de shāng hài.
    This layer of atmosphere protects us from solar radiation.

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.

大气atmosphere
大dàbig气qìair
偏正Modifier + head
层cénglayer

大气 means atmosphere and 层 means layer; together they name the atmospheric layer around a planet.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →

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 層; 层 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
尸尸shī
Sound part声符shēngfú
曾
曾céng層céng
Same sound today

The traditional form 層 uses 尸 for the meaning and 曾 for the sound; the simplified 层 is a later abbreviation.

Open 层 →
Appears in
Sky & Space

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