船只 (chuán zhī) — ship, vessel (collective term for boats and shi… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

船只 is a formal collective term for boats and ships as a group. Use it for fleets or watercraft in general, not for a single 船.

noun

shipvessel (collective term for boats and ships)

Measure word · 艘

Examples

船只。
Gǎng kǒu tíng zhe xǔ duō chuán zhī.
Many vessels are docked at the port.
船只。
Zhè xiē chuán zhī jiāng zài míng tiān chū hǎi.
These vessels will go out to sea tomorrow.
船只。
Hǎi guān zhèng zài jiǎn chá suǒ yǒu chuán zhī.
Customs is inspecting all vessels.

Origin

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

船 gives ship and 只 makes it a collective term for 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.

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.

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

只 shows air coming out of a mouth, for a word used in speech.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Boats & Water Travel

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