无线电报 (wú xiàn diàn bào) — wireless telegram, radiotelegram

Definition

Old-fashioned term for a 'wireless telegram' — a message sent by radio (无线电), used before modern telecommunications. Mostly historical; you'll see it in reading about early 20th-century events.

noun
wireless telegramradiotelegram

Examples

  • ，无线电报。
    Yì bǎi duō nián qián, rén men yòng wú xiàn diàn bào chuán dì xìn xī.
    Over a hundred years ago, people used wireless telegrams to transmit information.
  • 无线电报。
    Tài tǎn ní kè hào chén mò qián fā chū le zuì hòu de wú xiàn diàn bào.
    The Titanic sent its last wireless telegram before sinking.
  • 无线电报。
    Zhè zhǒng wú xiàn diàn bào jì shù hòu lái fā zhǎn chéng le xiàn dài wú xiàn diàn tōng xìn.
    This wireless telegram technology later developed into modern radio communication.

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.

无线wireless
无wúnot have线xiànwire
动宾Verb + object
电报telegram
电diànelectric报bàoreport
偏正Modifier + head

无线 means not have wires, and 电报 is an electric report, so 无线电报 is a wireless telegram.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
泉
泉quán線xiàn
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.

Open 线 →

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 電; 电 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn電diàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 電, 雨 (rain) sits with 申, read shēn and meaning lightning.

Open 电 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 報; 报 is its simplified writing.

  • 㚔㚔㚔handcuffs
  • 𠬝𠬝𠬝to subdue

The traditional form 報 puts 㚔 (handcuffs) beside 𠬝 (to subdue), showing someone restrained and subdued, as in convicting or punishing a guilty person. The simplified 报 is a later shorthand.

Open 报 →

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