手电 (shǒu diàn) — flashlight | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

flashlight

Measure word · 个

手电，。
Nǐ de shǒu diàn méi diàn le, yào huàn diàn chí le.
Your flashlight is out of battery; you need to replace the batteries.
。
Tā ná zhuó shǒu diàn zhào le yí xià qián miàn de lù.
He took the flashlight and shone it on the road ahead.
手电，。
Chū mén jì de dài shǒu diàn, wǎn shàng lù hěn hēi.
Remember to bring a flashlight when you go out; the road is very dark at night.

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.

电diànelectricity

手 means hand and 电 means electricity, so the word denotes a hand-held electric light.

Characters in this word

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

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 電; 电 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

申

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

For the traditional form 電, 雨 (rain) sits with 申, read shēn and meaning lightning.

Appears in