客船 (kè chuán) — passenger ship, passenger boat

Definition

noun
passenger shippassenger boat
Measure word · 艘

Examples

  • 客船。
    Zhè sōu kè chuán kě yǐ zǎi wǔ bǎi míng chéng kè.
    This passenger ship can carry five hundred passengers.
  • ，客船。
    Cóng shàng hǎi dào chóng qìng, zuò kè chuán xū yào hǎo jǐ tiān.
    From Shanghai to Chongqing, taking a passenger ship takes several days.
  • 客船。
    Zhè tiáo háng xiàn shàng de kè chuán dōu shì xīn zào de.
    The passenger ships on this route are all newly built.

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.

客kèpassenger
船chuánboat

客 means passenger and 船 means boat, so it is a boat for passengers.

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè客kè
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 客, 宀 is a roof and 各 gives the sound; the character meant a guest.

Open 客 →

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
㕣
㕣㕣船
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

船 pairs 舟 (boat) with 㕣 for its sound.

Open 船 →

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