时钟 (shí zhōng) — clock | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

clock

Measure word · 台

Examples

时钟。
Qǐng bǎ zhè ge shí zhōng diào dào zhèng què de shí jiān.
Please set this clock to the correct time.
时钟。
Qiáng shàng de shí zhōng xiǎn shì xiàn zài shì sān diǎn.
The clock on the wall shows it's three o'clock now.
时钟。
Wǒ de shí zhōng màn le shí fēn zhōng.
My clock is ten minutes slow.

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.

时 points to time, while 钟 is a clock, so together they name a time-telling clock.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun; day

Sound part声符shēngfú

之

之zhī時shí

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

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

Everyday Objects

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