支线 (zhī xiàn) — branch line; feeder line

Definition

A secondary or feeder route (railway, subway, airline) branching off a main line. Pairs with 干线 (the main line it branches from).

noun

branch linefeeder line

Measure word · 条

支线。
Zhè tiáo tiě lù zhī xiàn lián jiē le liǎng gè xiǎo zhèn.
This railway branch line connects two small towns.
支线。
Háng kōng gōng sī xīn zēng le yì tiáo cóng shàng hǎi dào chéng dū de zhī xiàn.
The airline added a new feeder line from Shanghai to Chengdu.
支线。
Chéng shì wài wéi zhèng zài xiū jiàn yì tiáo dì tiě zhī xiàn.
A subway branch line is being built on the outskirts of the city.

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.

“支” means branch and “线” means line, together denoting a branch line.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

又十支

支 pairs 又 (hand) with 十, a shortened form of 竹 (bamboo), to picture a bamboo branch.

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 線; 线 is its simplified writing.

糹泉線

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糹Written in full as糸mì

Sound part声符shēngfú

泉

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

The traditional form 線 uses 糹 (silk/thread) to show the meaning and 泉 to suggest the sound; the simplified 线 is a later shorthand.

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