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机械 (jī xiè) — (noun) machine; machinery; (adjective) mechanical; rigid; automatic; (noun, archaic) cunning; scheming

Definition

机械 covers both the noun 'machine/machinery' and the adjective sense 'mechanical, rigid' (movements done without thought). As a noun it's more abstract/collective than 机器, which refers to a specific machine.

noun
machinemachinery(noun, archaic) cunningscheming
adjective
mechanicalrigidautomatic
Measure word · 台

Examples

  • 机械。
    Zhè jiā gōng chǎng mǎi le hěn duō xīn jī xiè.
    This factory bought a lot of new machines.
  • 机械，。
    Tā de dòng zuò hěn jī xiè, yì diǎn yě bú zì rán.
    His movements are very mechanical, not natural at all.
  • 机械。
    Zhè xiē jī xiè xū yào dìng qī bǎo yǎng.
    These machines need regular maintenance.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

机jīmachine
械xièimplement

机 refers to a machine and 械 to implements; together they denote machinery or mechanical operation.

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
木木mùtree; wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ机jī
Same sound today

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

Open 机 →

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
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
戒
戒jiè械xiè
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

械 pairs 木, meaning wood, with 戒 for sound. The early sense was handcuffs or shackles, later extended to devices.

Open 械 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Technology & Engineering5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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