孵化器 (fū huà qì) — incubator (for hatching eggs); incubator (for startup businesses)

Definition

Literally 'hatcher device': a machine for hatching eggs, or by extension, an organization that nurtures new businesses. The two senses share the metaphor of a warm, controlled environment that helps something young grow.

noun
incubator (for hatching eggs)incubator (for startup businesses)
Measure word · 台

Examples

  • 孵化器。
    Jī dàn zài fū huà qì lǐ fū chū le xiǎo jī.
    The eggs hatched chicks in the incubator.
  • 孵化器。
    Zhè ge chéng shì yǒu hěn duō chuàng yè fū huà qì.
    This city has many startup incubators.
  • 孵化器。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī shì yí gè chéng gōng de kē jì fū huà qì.
    This company is a successful tech incubator.

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.

孵化hatching
孵fūhatch化huàchange
补充Verb + complement
器qìdevice

孵化 names hatching, and 器 names a device, giving a hatching device.

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
卵卵luǎnegg
Sound part声符shēngfú
孚
孚fú孵fū
Same sound today

The left part 卵 means egg, and the right part 孚 gives 孵 its sound.

Open 孵 →

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

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

Open 化 →

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

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.

Open 器 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.