收发员 (shōu fā yuán) — mail clerk; receptionist (in an office handling mail)

Definition

noun
mail clerkreceptionist (in an office handling mail)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 收发员。
    Zhè wèi shōu fā yuán měi tiān chǔ lǐ xìn jiàn.
    This mail clerk handles letters every day.
  • 收发员。
    Gōng sī de shōu fā yuán bǎ bāo guǒ sòng dào le gè gè bù mén.
    The company's mail clerk delivered packages to various departments.
  • 收发员。
    Xīn lái de shōu fā yuán gōng zuò hěn rèn zhēn.
    The new mail clerk works very diligently.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

收发receive and send
收shōureceive发fāsend
联合Side by side
员yuánperson

收 and 发 mean receive and send, and 员 denotes a person who does such work.

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
丩
丩jiū收shōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

收 uses 攴 to show an action and 丩 as a sound clue; the old meaning was 'to arrest.'

Open 收 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鼎鼎dǐngding
Sound part声符shēngfú
〇
〇líng員yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Open 员 →

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