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硬件 (yìng jiàn) — hardware

Definition

Hardware: the physical parts of a computer (CPU, memory, etc.), as opposed to 软件 (software). Don't confuse with 硬盘, which is just the hard disk — one piece of hardware.

noun
hardware
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 硬件。
    Zhè tái diàn nǎo de yìng jiàn xū yào gēng huàn le.
    The hardware of this computer needs to be replaced.
  • 硬件。
    Gōng sī jué dìng tóu zī xīn de yìng jiàn shè bèi.
    The company decided to invest in new hardware equipment.
  • 硬件？
    Nǐ de yìng jiàn pèi zhì gòu yòng ma?
    Is your hardware configuration sufficient?

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.

硬yìnghard
件jiànitem

硬 means hard or solid, and 件 means an item; together they name solid physical items of equipment.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
更
更gèng硬yìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

硬 is built from 石, meaning stone, to show hardness or stiffness, and 更, which gives the sound.

Open 硬 →

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

件 is made of 人, 'man', and 牛, 'cow'.

Open 件 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Computers & InternetTechnology & Engineering

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.