巨轮 (jù lún) — large ship, large vessel; large wheel (e.g., ship's wheel, giant wheel)

Definition

Literary word for a large ship (often ocean liners or cargo vessels). The 'wheel' sense is rare and used mainly for machinery or rides.

noun
large shiplarge vessellarge wheel (e.g., ship's wheel, giant wheel)
Measure word · 艘

Examples

  • 巨轮。
    Gǎng kǒu tíng kào zhe yì sōu jù lún.
    A large ship is docked at the port.
  • 巨轮。
    Zhè tái jī qì shàng de jù lún xū yào gēng huàn.
    The large wheel on this machine needs to be replaced.
  • 巨轮。
    Wǒ men zuò jù lún chū hǎi lǚ xíng le yí cì.
    We took a large ship and traveled overseas once.

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.

巨jùhuge
轮lúnwheel

巨 means huge and 轮 means wheel; together they describe a very large wheel or a huge vessel.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 巨 →

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 輪; 轮 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage
Sound part声符shēngfú
侖
侖lún輪lún
Same sound today

The traditional form 輪 uses 車, a carriage, and 侖 for the sound; the simplified 轮 is a later shorthand.

Open 轮 →

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