磁卡 (cí kǎ) — magnetic card; IC card (e.g., telephone card, access card)

Definition

noun
magnetic cardIC card (e.g., telephone card, access card)
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • 磁卡。
    Qǐng shuā cí kǎ jìn rù dà lóu.
    Please swipe your magnetic card to enter the building.
  • 磁卡，。
    Wǒ yǒu yì zhāng diàn huà cí kǎ, dàn yǐ jīng hěn jiǔ méi yòng le.
    I have a telephone card, but I haven't used it in a long time.
  • 磁卡。
    Zhè zhǒng cí kǎ kě yǐ chǔ cún hěn duō shù jù.
    This type of magnetic card can store a lot of data.

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.

磁címagnetic
卡kǎcard

'磁' gives the magnetic quality and '卡' names the card.

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shírock; stone
Sound part声符shēngfú
兹
兹zī磁cí
Same sound today

磁 is built from 石, meaning rock or stone, and 兹, which gives the sound.

Open 磁 →

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

卡 is made from 上 (up) and 下 (down), with their horizontal lines fused, showing something squeezed between above and below.

Open 卡 →

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