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推土机 (tuī tǔ jī) — bulldozer

Definition

noun
bulldozer
Measure word · 台

Examples

  • 推土机。
    Lù biān yǒu yì tái tuī tǔ jī.
    There is a bulldozer by the roadside.
  • 推土机。
    tuī tǔ jī Kě yǐ bǎ tǔ tuī dào páng biān.
    The bulldozer can push soil to the side.
  • 推土机。
    Wǒ men zū le yí liàng tuī tǔ jī lái yòng.
    We rented a bulldozer to use.

Origin

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.

推土push earth
推tuīpush土tǔearth
动宾Verb + object
机jīmachine

推土 describes pushing earth, and 机 is a machine, giving a machine that pushes earth.

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
隹
隹zhuī推tuī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 扌 is a hand, and the right side 隹 gives the sound; the character shows pushing with the hand.

Open 推 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 土 →

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
木木mùtree; wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ机jī
Same sound today

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

Open 机 →
Appears in
Industry & Manufacturing

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