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次级 (cì jí) — second class; secondary

Definition

A formal noun meaning 'secondary / second-tier' (markets, products, loans) — implies lower rank or quality than the primary tier, not just 'sub-' in a technical sense.

noun
second classsecondary

Examples

  • 次级。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī zhuān zhù yú cì jí shì chǎng.
    This company focuses on the secondary market.
  • 次级。
    cì jí Chǎn pǐn tōng cháng zhì liàng jiào dī.
    Secondary products are usually of lower quality.
  • 次级。
    Zhè zhǒng cì jí dài kuǎn fēng xiǎn hěn gāo.
    This kind of subprime loan is very risky.

Origin

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.

次cìsecond
级jílevel

'次' means second or lower, and '级' is a level, together naming a secondary class.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The old form of 次 shows a person exhaling, with the marks above the figure representing breath.

Open 次 →

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 級; 级 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí級jí
Same sound today

The traditional form 級 has 糹 (thread) and 及 as a sound part; its original sense was a sequence related to silk. The simplified 级 is a later shorthand.

Open 级 →
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