船 (chuán) — boat; ship; vessel
Definition
A concrete watercraft — boat, ship, or vessel. Distinct from 船只, which is a collective/literary term for ships as a group. Pairs with measure words 条, 艘, or 只.
noun
boatshipvessel
Measure word · 条, 艘, 只
Easily confused
Examples
- 船。Zhè tiáo chuán shì xīn de.This boat is new.
- 。Wǒ měi tiān zuò chuán qù shàng bān.I take a boat to work every day.
- 船。Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yì sōu dà chuán.I want to buy a big boat.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
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
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