投递员 (tóu dì yuán) — mail carrier, postal delivery worker

Definition

noun
mail carrierpostal delivery worker
Measure word · 名

Examples

  • 投递员。
    tóu dì yuán Měi tiān zǎo shàng liù diǎn kāi shǐ gōng zuò.
    The mail carrier starts work at six every morning.
  • 投递员？。
    Nǐ kàn jiàn tóu dì yuán le ma? tā gāng bǎ xìn fàng jìn yóu xiāng.
    Did you see the mail carrier? He just put the letter in the mailbox.
  • 投递员。
    Zhè wèi tóu dì yuán yǐ jīng zài zhè tiáo jiē shàng fú wù le shí nián.
    This mail carrier has served on this street for ten years.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

投递deliver
投tóusend递dìpass
联合Side by side
员yuánperson

Sending and delivering plus the person word form a mail carrier.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
殳
殳shū投tóu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, and the right part 殳 gives the sound of the character.

Open 投 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
弟
弟dì递dì
Same sound today

递 is built from 辶 (written in full as 辵) and 弟; 辶 is the meaning part and 弟 is the sound part.

Open 递 →

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 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鼎鼎dǐngding
Sound part声符shēngfú
〇
〇líng員yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Open 员 →

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