浮标 (fú biāo) — buoy | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

buoy

Measure word · 个

Examples

浮标。
Hǎi miàn shàng yǒu yí gè hóng sè de fú biāo.
There is a red buoy on the sea surface.
浮标。
Chuán zhǎng de rèn wu shì jiǎn chá měi yí zuò fú biāo de zhuàng tài.
The captain's job is to check the status of every buoy.
浮标。
Yú mín men kào fú biāo lái biāo jì yú wǎng de wèi zhì.
Fishermen use buoys to mark the location of their nets.

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.

“浮” means float and “标” means marker, together a floating marker.

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shuǐriver

Sound part声符shēngfú

孚

孚fú浮fú

Same sound today

浮 pairs 水 (river) with 孚, which gives the sound; the river part points to its meaning of floating.

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 標; 标 is its simplified writing.

木票標

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

票

票piào標biāo

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 標 pairs 木 with 票, and 票 gives the sound; the simplified 标 is the modern form of that traditional character.

Appears in

Boats & Water Travel

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