水力学 (shuǐ lì xué) — hydraulics

Definition

Academic discipline name: 'hydraulics' — the study of fluids (especially water) in motion, used in engineering contexts. Pairs with related terms like 水利工程 (hydraulic engineering).

noun
hydraulics

Examples

  • 水力学。
    Tā zhèng zài dà xué xué xí shuǐ lì xué.
    He is studying hydraulics at university.
  • 水力学。
    shuǐ lì xué Shì shuǐ lì gōng chéng de zhòng yào jī chǔ xué kē.
    Hydraulics is an important foundational discipline in hydraulic engineering.
  • 水力学。
    Zhè běn shuǐ lì xué jiào cái nèi róng fēi cháng xiáng xì.
    The content of this hydraulics textbook is very detailed.

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.

水力water power
水shuǐwater力lìpower
偏正Modifier + head
学xuéstudy

水力 means water power, and 学 means study; together they form the study of water power.

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.

Open 水 →

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

力 is drawn as either an arm bending out from the side of the body or a wooden plough.

Open 力 →

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 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Open 学 →

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