有线 (yǒu xiàn) — wired (as in cable connection, wired network)

Definition

Wired / cable-based (network, TV, phone), as opposed to 无线 (wireless). It pairs with words like 网络, 电视, and 电话.

verb
wired (as in cable connection, wired network)
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，。
    Zhè ge xì tǒng yǒu guāng xiān xiàn, sù dù bǐ wú xiàn kuài de duō.
    This system has fiber-optic cables — it's much faster than wireless.
  • 。
    Wǒ jiā zhuāng de yǒu xiàn diàn shì néng kàn yì bǎi duō gè pín dào.
    The cable TV installed at my home can receive over a hundred channels.
  • 有线，。
    Tā men gōng sī de yǒu xiàn wǎng luò fēi cháng wěn dìng, cóng lái bú diào xiàn.
    Their company's wired network is very stable — it never disconnects.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

有yǒuhave
线xiànwire/cable

'有' (have) + '线' (wire/cable) builds the sense of connected by cable.

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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 →
Appears in
Phones & Telecom

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