有轨 (yǒu guǐ) — tracked (typically used in compounds like 有轨电车 'tramcar'); rail-

Definition

Used mainly as a bound prefix meaning 'rail/tracked' (as in 有轨电车 'tram'), almost never standing alone. Contrast with 地铁: 有轨电车 runs on street-level rails in mixed traffic, while 地铁 is an underground subway.

adjective
tracked (typically used in compounds like 有轨电车 'tramcar')rail-
Easily confused

Examples

  • 有轨。
    Zhè ge chéng shì xīn jiàn le yì tiáo yǒu guǐ diàn chē xiàn lù.
    This city built a new tram line.
  • 有轨。
    yǒu guǐ Jiāo tōng xì tǒng zài gāo fēng qī fēi cháng yōng jǐ.
    The rail transit system is very crowded during rush hour.
  • 有轨。
    Wǒ měi tiān zuò yǒu guǐ diàn chē shàng bān.
    I take the tram to work every day.

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
轨guǐrail

有 contributes have and 轨 contributes rail, so the meaning is having rails.

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 軌; 轨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jū
Sound part声符shēngfú
九
九jiǔ軌guǐ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 軌 pairs 車 (cart) with 九 as a sound part; the simplified 轨 is a later shorthand.

Open 轨 →

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