换气 (huàn qì) — to ventilate, to change the air; to take a brea…

Definition

Literally 'change air': to ventilate a room, aerate water, or pause to take a breath (e.g., while swimming).

verb

to ventilateto change the airto take a breath (in swimming)to aerate

，换气。
Fáng jiān lǐ de kōng qì bù hǎo, xū yào huàn qì.
The air in the room is bad, it needs ventilation.
。
Tā měi cì yóu dào lìng yì biān cái huàn yí cì qì.
He only takes a breath once each time he swims to the other side.
换气。
Yǎng yú de shuǐ yào jīng cháng huàn qì.
The water for fish needs frequent aeration.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

“换” means to change and “气” means air, so the word describes changing the air or taking a breath.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 換; 换 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

奐

奐huàn換huàn

Same sound today

For the traditional form 換, 手 is the hand part and 奐 gives the sound; this note is about 換, not the simplified 换.

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in