海床 (hǎi chuáng) — seabed; seafloor

Definition

noun
seabedseafloor

Examples

  • 海床。
    Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū hǎi chuáng de shēng tài huán jìng.
    Scientists are studying the ecological environment of the seabed.
  • 海床。
    Zhè piàn hǎi chuáng xià miàn yǒu fēng fù de shí yóu zī yuán.
    There are abundant oil resources beneath this seafloor.
  • 。
    Qián shuǐ qì kě yǐ dào dá shēn hǎi chuáng jìn xíng diào chá.
    Submersibles can reach the deep seabed to conduct surveys.

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.

海hǎisea
床chuángbed

The 床 of the 海, meaning the seabed.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
每
每měi海hǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

Open 海 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The 床 shape combines 广, a house, and 木, tree, to show a wooden bed inside a house.

Open 床 →

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