本科生 (běn kē shēng) — undergraduate student

Definition

noun

undergraduate student

Measure word · 个

本科生。
Tā shì yì míng běn kē shēng.
He is an undergraduate student.
本科生。
Zhè wèi běn kē shēng zài gōng sī shí xí.
This undergraduate student is interning at a company.
本科生。
Hěn duō běn kē shēng bì yè hòu zhǔn bèi zhǎo gōng zuò.
Many undergraduate students prepare to find jobs after graduation.

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.

本科undergraduate course

偏正Modifier + head

本科 (undergraduate course) plus 生 (student) gives a person studying at that level.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

禾斗科

Meaning part形符xíngfú

斗斗dòumeasuring tool

Sound part声符shēngfú

禾

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

科 pairs 禾, which gives the hé sound, with 斗, a measuring tool.

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.