机头 (jī tóu) — (aircraft) nose | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

(aircraft) nose

Measure word · 个

机头。
Fēi jī de jī tóu xū yào dìng qī jiǎn chá.
The nose of the aircraft needs regular inspection.
机头。
Shè jì shī gǎi jìn le jī tóu de xíng zhuàng yǐ jiǎn shǎo kōng qì zǔ lì.
The designer improved the shape of the nose to reduce air resistance.
机头。
jī tóu Shì fēi jī zuì zhòng yào de bù fen zhī yī.
The nose is one of the most important parts of an aircraft.

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.

机jīaircraft

头tóufront end

机 gives aircraft and 头 gives the front end, yielding the nose of an aircraft.

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.

木几机

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree; wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

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 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

豆頁頭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

豆

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

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Appears in