救火队 (jiù huǒ duì) — fire brigade; fire department

Definition

noun

fire brigadefire department

Measure word · 个

，救火队。
Huǒ zāi fā shēng hòu, jiù huǒ duì hěn kuài jiù gǎn dào le xiàn chǎng.
After the fire broke out, the fire brigade arrived at the scene quickly.
救火队。
Jū mín men dǎ diàn huà jiào lái le jiù huǒ duì.
The residents called the fire department.
救火队。
jiù huǒ duì De xiāo fáng yuán men mào zhe wēi xiǎn chōng jìn huǒ chǎng.
The firefighters of the fire brigade rushed into the fire scene risking danger.

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.

救火

动宾Verb + object

救火 means extinguishing fire, and 队 is a team, so it denotes a team that fights fires.

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

求

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

In 救, 求 gives the sound, and 攴 is the action part.

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

火 is a simple drawing of a fire, with flames shown rising upward.

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 隊; 队 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阜阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

㒸

㒸㒸隊duì

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

The traditional form 隊 has 阜 as the meaning part and 㒸 as the sound part.