直升飞机 (zhí shēng fēi jī) — helicopter | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

helicopter

Measure word · 架

Examples

直升飞机。
Tā men zuò zhí shēng fēi jī qù jī chǎng.
They took a helicopter to the airport.
直升飞机。
Tiān kōng zhōng yǒu yí jià zhí shēng fēi jī zài fēi xíng.
There is a helicopter flying in the sky.
直升飞机。
Wǒ cóng lái méi yǒu zuò guò zhí shēng fēi jī.
I have never taken a helicopter.

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.

直升vertical-lift

直zhívertical升shēngascend

偏正Modifier + head

飞机airplane

飞fēifly机jīmachine

偏正Modifier + head

直升 (vertical-lift) + 飞机 (airplane) gives a plane that lifts vertically, a helicopter.

Characters in this word

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

目目mùeye
丨丨gǔn?

The earliest form of 直 pairs 目, an eye, with an unclear stroke 丨.

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

The shape comes from a drawing of a standard dipper used to measure one 升.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飛; 飞 is its simplified writing.

For 飞, the traditional form 飛 pictures a bird flying upwards.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木几机

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree; wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

几jǐ机jī

Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Appears in

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