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密集 (mì jí) — densely packed, crowded together; intensive (as in training or activity)

Definition

密集 describes things that are densely packed together (people, buildings) or done with high frequency (密集训练). Different from 集中, which focuses on concentrating resources or attention in one place, and from 专心/专注, which are about mental focus.

densely packedcrowded togetherintensive (as in training or activity)

Examples

  • 密集，。
    Zhè ge dì qū rén kǒu mì jí, jiāo tōng fēi cháng yōng jǐ.
    This area has a dense population, and the traffic is very congested traffic.
  • 密集，。
    Tā men jìn xíng le mì jí xùn liàn, xiào guǒ hěn hǎo.
    They underwent intensive training and got good results.
  • 密集，。
    Chéng shì lǐ de fáng zi jiàn dé hěn mì jí, gōng yuán hěn shǎo.
    The houses in the city are built very densely, and there are very few parks.

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.

密mìdense
集jígather

密 means dense and 集 means gather, so the word describes gathering closely together.

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
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
宓
宓mì密mì
Same sound today

密 pairs 山 (mountain) with 宓 (mì), which gives the pronunciation, to picture something hidden in the mountains, hence secret.

Open 密 →

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

集 pairs 隹 (bird) with 木 (tree), showing birds on a tree, hence a gathering.

Open 集 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6

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