科学奖 (kē xué jiǎng) — science award; scientific prize

Definition

noun
science awardscientific prize
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 科学奖。
    Tā qù nián huò dé le guó jiā kē xué jiǎng.
    He received a national science award last year.
  • 科学奖。
    Zhè ge kē xué jiǎng biǎo zhāng le zhòng yào de kē xué fā xiàn.
    This science prize recognizes an important scientific discovery.
  • 科学奖。
    Hěn duō nián qīng kē xué jiā mèng xiǎng yíng dé nuò bèi ěr kē xué jiǎng.
    Many young scientists dream of winning a Nobel science prize.

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.

科学science
科kēsubject学xuéstudy
偏正Modifier + head
奖jiǎngprize

科 means subject and 学 means study, and 奖 means prize, so the name is a prize for science.

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
斗斗dòumeasuring tool
Sound part声符shēngfú
禾
禾hé科kē
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

科 pairs 禾, which gives the hé sound, with 斗, a measuring tool.

Open 科 →

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 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Open 学 →

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 獎; 奖 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
將
將jiāng獎jiǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 獎 pairs 將 as a sound part with 犬, a dog; the simplified 奖 is a later shorthand. The evidence says the dog part's meaning is unclear, perhaps referring to guiding a dog by voice.

Open 奖 →

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