年检 (nián jiǎn) — annual inspection

Definition

noun
annual inspection
Measure word · 次

Examples

  • 年检。
    Chē liàng měi nián dōu yào tōng guò nián jiǎn.
    Vehicles must pass the annual inspection every year.
  • 年检。
    Gōng sī de shè bèi nián jiǎn yǐ jīng wán chéng le.
    The company's equipment annual inspection has been completed.
  • 年检，。
    Zhè cì nián jiǎn bù hé gé, xū yào chóng xīn jiǎn chá.
    This annual inspection didn't pass; a re-check is needed.

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.

年niányear
检jiǎninspect

年检 joins 年 'year' and 检 'inspect' to mean an inspection done yearly.

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
禾禾héwheat; grain
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén年nián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

年 pairs 禾 (grain) with 人, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was harvest, and it later came to mean a year.

Open 年 →

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 檢; 检 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
僉
僉qiān檢jiǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 檢 pairs 木 (wood) with 僉 as a sound part; it may originally have pictured a blade on top of a wooden spear. The simplified 检 is a later shorthand.

Open 检 →

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