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生命线 (shēng mìng xiàn) — lifeline

Definition

A figurative 'lifeline' — a route, resource, or connection crucial to survival (e.g. internet, air route, medicine). Concretely, 生命力 is inner 'life force'; 性命 is the life itself at stake.

noun
lifeline
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 生命线。
    Zhè tiáo háng xiàn shì zhè ge dǎo guó de shēng mìng xiàn.
    This air route is the lifeline of this island nation.
  • ，生命线。
    Duì yú bìng rén lái shuō, zhè zhǒng yào jiù shì tā de shēng mìng xiàn.
    For a patient, this medicine is his lifeline.
  • 生命线。
    Hù lián wǎng rú jīn yǐ jīng chéng wéi xiàn dài shè huì de shēng mìng xiàn.
    The internet has now become the lifeline of modern society.

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.

生命life
生shēnglife命mìnglife
联合Coordinate
线xiànline

'生命' and '线' combine as a line of life, giving lifeline.

Characters in this word

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng命mìng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

命 combines 口, a mouth, with 令, which gives the sound.

Open 命 →

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 線; 线 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
泉
泉quán線xiàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 線 uses 糹 (silk/thread) to show the meaning and 泉 to suggest the sound; the simplified 线 is a later shorthand.

Open 线 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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