电焊工 (diàn hàn gōng) — electric welder

Definition

noun

electric welder

Measure word · 个

电焊工。
Tā shì gōng chǎng de diàn hàn gōng.
He is an electric welder at the factory.
电焊工。
diàn hàn gōng Xū yào pèi dài fáng hù miàn jù.
An electric welder needs to wear a protective mask.
电焊工。
Wǒ fù qīn shì yì míng jīng yàn fēng fù de diàn hàn gōng.
My father is an experienced electric welder.

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.

电焊electric welding

偏正Modifier + head

电焊 “electric welding” and 工 “worker” combine to mean a worker who does electric welding.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 電; 电 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雨雨yǔrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

申

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

For the traditional form 電, 雨 (rain) sits with 申, read shēn and meaning lightning.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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.