散热器 (sàn rè qì) — radiator (device that dissipates heat)

Definition

noun

radiator (device that dissipates heat)

Measure word · 个

散热器。
Wǒ de qì chē xū yào huàn yí gè xīn sàn rè qì.
My car needs a new radiator.
散热器。
Diàn nǎo de sàn rè qì jī le hěn duō huī chén.
The computer's heat sink has accumulated a lot of dust.
散热器。
Zhè ge sàn rè qì de sàn rè xiào guǒ hěn hǎo.
This radiator has very good heat dissipation performance.

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.

散热release heat

动宾Verb + object

'散热' means to release heat and '器' is a device; a device that releases heat is a radiator.

Characters in this word

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

散 combines 林 (trees or forest) and 攴 (to knock or tap), originally showing knocking to clear vegetation, later extended to breaking up or dispersing.

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 熱; 热 is its simplified writing.

埶灬熱

Meaning part形符xíngfú

灬Written in full as火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

埶

埶yì熱rè

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

The traditional form 熱 pairs 埶 with 火 (written as 灬) to show heat, while 埶 gives a sound.

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

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.

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