汽船 (qì chuán) — steamship, steamer | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

steamshipsteamer

Measure word · 艘

Examples

汽船。
Zhè sōu qì chuán shì shí jiǔ shì jì jiàn zào de.
This steamship was built in the 19th century.
汽船。
Zuì zǎo de qì chuán shǐ yòng zhēng qì jī tuī dòng.
The earliest steamships were powered by steam engines.
汽船。
Xiàn zài qì chuán yǐ jīng bèi gèng xiān jìn de chuán zhī qǔ dài le.
Now steamships have been replaced by more advanced vessels.

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.

汽 means steam and 船 means ship; together they name a ship driven by steam.

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.

氵气汽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

Same sound today

The 氵 part is water, and 气 is used for the sound and also means air, so 汽 shows water in an air-like form.

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

舟舟zhōuboat

Sound part声符shēngfú

㕣

㕣㕣船

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

船 pairs 舟 (boat) with 㕣 for its sound.

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