挖掘机 (wā jué jī) — excavator | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

excavator

Measure word · 台

挖掘机。
Gōng dì shàng yǒu yì tái wā jué jī zhèng zài wā tǔ.
There is an excavator digging soil at the construction site.
。
Tā kāi wā jué jī de jì shù fēi cháng hǎo.
His skill in operating an excavator is excellent.
挖掘机。
Zhè tái wā jué jī shì dé guó zhì zào de.
This excavator is made in Germany.

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.

挖掘dig

联合Side by side

机jīmachine

挖 and 掘 both mean dig, and 机 is machine, so it is a machine that digs.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

扌屈掘

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand; action

Sound part声符shēngfú

屈

屈qū掘jué

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

掘 uses 扌 to show an action done with the hand, and 屈 to give the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木几机

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree; wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.