特工 (tè gōng) — secret agent, special agent

Definition

noun

secret agentspecial agent

Measure word · 个

特工，。
Tā shì yì míng yōu xiù de tè gōng, zhí xíng guò duō cì mì mì rèn wu.
He is an outstanding secret agent who has carried out many secret missions.
特工。
Zhè bù diàn yǐng jiǎng shù le yí gè tè gōng de gù shi.
This movie tells the story of a secret agent.
特工。
Zhèng fǔ de tè gōng bù mén fù zé shōu jí qíng bào.
The government's secret service department is responsible for gathering intelligence.

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.

特tèspecial

“特” (special) narrows “工” (worker) to a secret operative.

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.

牛寺特

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

寺

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

The shape combines 牛 (ox) with 寺, which gives the pronunciation; it originally meant a large bull.

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

The shape of 工 is a picture of a bladed tool used to plow ground or mark a border; some read it as a carpenter's square.

Appears in