洒水车 (sǎ shuǐ chē) — sprinkler truck (a vehicle that sprays water on streets or plants)

Definition

noun
sprinkler truck (a vehicle that sprays water on streets or plants)
Measure word · 辆

Examples

  • 洒水车。
    Nà liàng sǎ shuǐ chē zhèng zài gěi lù biān de huā cǎo jiāo shuǐ.
    That sprinkler truck is watering the flowers and plants by the roadside.
  • ，洒水车。
    Xià tiān de shí hou, sǎ shuǐ chē měi tiān yào gōng zuò hǎo jǐ gè xiǎo shí.
    In summer, the sprinkler truck has to work for several hours every day.
  • 洒水车，。
    Zhè liàng sǎ shuǐ chē shì qù nián mǎi de, xìng néng hěn hǎo.
    This sprinkler truck was bought last year and has good performance.

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.

洒水spray water
洒sǎspray水shuǐwater
动宾Verb + object
车chēvehicle

洒水 means spray water and 车 means vehicle, so it names a vehicle that sprays water.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
西
西xī洒sǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

洒 combines 水, the water part, with 西, which gives the sound.

Open 洒 →

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 車; 车 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 車 was drawn as a carriage seen from above, with wheels on both sides and a shaft at the front; the simplified 车 is a later shorthand.

Open 车 →

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