给水 (jǐ shuǐ) — water supply; feed water (machinery)

Definition

A technical term for 'water supply' — covers both municipal/pipeline supply and the 'feed water' fed into boilers or industrial equipment. Almost only seen in engineering, factory, or utilities contexts.

noun
water supplyfeed water (machinery)

Examples

  • 给水。
    Zhè ge gōng chǎng de jǐ shuǐ xì tǒng xū yào shēng jí.
    The water supply system of this factory needs an upgrade.
  • 给水。
    jǐ shuǐ Shè bèi de wéi hù fēi cháng zhòng yào.
    The maintenance of feed water equipment is very important.
  • 给水。
    Tā men zhèng zài yán jiū xīn xíng de jǐ shuǐ jì shù.
    They are researching new types of water supply technology.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

给gěisupply
水shuǐwater

给 means to supply and 水 means water; together they denote the act or system of supplying water.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 給; 给 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
合
合hé給gěi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 給 uses 糸 (silk) for meaning and 合 for sound, and its old sense was rich, abundant, perhaps referring to precious silk; 给 is a later simplified form.

Open 给 →

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.