监控 (jiān kòng) — to monitor, to keep under surveillance

Definition

监控 is surveillance-style monitoring, often with equipment, used for systems, networks, or people — more technical than 监督 (oversight of people/work). Pair with 监测 for continuous data tracking vs control.

verb
to monitorto keep under surveillance

Examples

  • 监控。
    Tā men yòng wú rén jī jiān kòng nóng tián.
    They use drones to monitor farmland.
  • 监控。
    Xì tǒng huì shí shí jiān kòng tǐ wēn biàn huà.
    The system will monitor body temperature changes in real time.
  • 监控。
    Qǐng jiān kòng kě yí de wǎng luò huó dòng.
    Please monitor suspicious network activity.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

监jiānsupervise
控kòngcontrol

监 (supervise) and 控 (control) together mean keeping something under watch and control.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 監; 监 is its simplified writing.

  • 臥臥wòa person with an emphasized eye
  • 皿皿mǐncontainer

The traditional form 監 shows 臥, a person with an emphasized eye, looking into 皿, a container; the simplified 监 is a later shorthand.

Open 监 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
空
空kōng控kòng
Same sound today

The left part is 手 written as 扌, showing a hand; the right part 空 gives the sound.

Open 控 →
Appears in
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