舰船 (jiàn chuán) — warships; naval vessels | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

舰船 is a formal term for military ships collectively, usually appearing in news, defense, or naval contexts rather than everyday speech. A single ship is called 舰 (jiàn) or 船 (chuán); 舰船 covers the whole category.

noun

warshipsnaval vessels

Measure word · 艘

Examples

舰船。
Zhè sōu jiàn chuán shì hǎi jūn zuì xīn de qū zhú jiàn.
This warship is the navy's newest destroyer.
舰船。
Gǎng kǒu tíng bó zhe shù shí sōu jiàn chuán.
Dozens of naval vessels are anchored in the harbor.
，舰船。
Yǎn xí zhōng, jiàn chuán biān duì jìn xíng le shí tán shè jī.
During the exercise, the warship formation conducted live-fire drills.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

舰jiànwarship

舰 and 船 both denote watercraft; together they refer to ships as a collective, especially naval vessels.

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 艦; 舰 is its simplified writing.

舟監艦

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

監

監jiān艦⁰jiàn

Same sound today

The traditional form 艦 pairs 舟 (boat) with 監 to give the sound; the simplified 舰 is a shorthand and its right side is not the historical sound part.

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

舟舟zhōuboat

Sound part声符shēngfú

㕣

㕣㕣船

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

船 pairs 舟 (boat) with 㕣 for its sound.

Appears in

Military & Defense Boats & Water Travel

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