急刹车 (jí shā chē) — slam on the brakes (literally); to bring (something) to a sudden halt; to stop abruptly (figuratively)

Definition

A verb-object phrase meaning to brake hard and suddenly, literally with a vehicle (急刹) or figuratively for any sudden stop. Often reduplicated as 急刹车 to show the motion vividly.

verb
slam on the brakes (literally)to bring (something) to a sudden haltto stop abruptly (figuratively)

Examples

  • ，急刹车。
    Sī jī kàn dào qián miàn yǒu rén, mǎ shàng jí shā chē.
    The driver saw someone ahead and slammed on the brakes immediately.
  • ，急刹车。
    Yóu yú zī jīn bù zú, zhè ge xiàng mù bù dé bù jí shā chē.
    Due to insufficient funds, this project had to come to a sudden halt.
  • ，急刹车。
    Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, suǒ yǒu gōng zuò dōu jí shā chē le.
    Upon hearing this news, all work came to an abrupt stop.

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.

急jísudden
刹车brake
刹chàstop车chēvehicle
动宾Verb + object

急 means sudden and 刹车 means brake, so it describes a sudden braking action.

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí急jí
Same sound today

急 pairs 心 (heart) with 及, which gives the sound.

Open 急 →

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 剎; 刹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刂Written in full as刀dāo
Sound part声符shēngfú
殺
殺shā剎shā
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 剎 combines 殺 for sound with 刂 (written fully as 刀, a knife) for meaning; the simplified 刹 is a later abbreviation.

Open 刹 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 車; 车 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 車 was drawn as a carriage seen from above, with wheels on both sides and a shaft at the front; the simplified 车 is a later shorthand.

Open 车 →

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