排气 (pái qì) — to exhaust, to vent (gas or air) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Refers specifically to releasing or venting gas/air from an enclosed space or machine (e.g. an exhaust system, boiler). The first character is pronounced pái, not pái in 安排.

verb

to exhaustto vent (gas or air)

Examples

排气。
Qì chē de pái qì xì tǒng chū le wèn tí.
The car's exhaust system has a problem.
。
Guō lú měi gè xīng qī yào pái yí cì qì.
The boiler needs to be vented once a week.
排气，。
Chú fáng de pái qì xiào guǒ bú tài hǎo, zuò fàn shí yóu yān hěn dà.
The kitchen's ventilation isn't very good — there's a lot of smoke when cooking.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

排 'emit' plus 气 'gas' describes letting air out.

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.

扌非排

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

非

非fēi排pái

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

排 uses 扌 (hand) to show arranging something with the hand, and 非 for the sound; this gives the sense of placing things in a line.

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

气qì氣qì

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

Technology & Engineering

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