水位 (shuǐ wèi) — water level | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

water level

Examples

水位。
Zhè tiáo hé de shuǐ wèi shàng shēng le hěn duō.
The water level of this river has risen a lot.
水位。
Qǐng jiǎn chá shuǐ xiāng de shuǐ wèi shì fǒu zhèng cháng.
Please check whether the water level in the tank is normal.
，水位。
Yóu yú bào yǔ, shuǐ kù shuǐ wèi yǐ jīng chāo guò le ān quán xiàn.
Due to heavy rain, the reservoir's water level has already exceeded the safety line.

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.

“水” means water and “位” means position or level, giving water level.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

立

立lì位wèi

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

位 combines 人 (man), related to people, with 立, which gives the sound. It was often simply written as 立.

Appears in

Geography & Landforms

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