警笛 (jǐng dí) — police whistle; siren (of an emergency vehicle…

Definition

noun

police whistlesiren (of an emergency vehicle or its sound)

Measure word · 个

。
Yuǎn chù chuán lái le jǐng dí shēng.
The sound of a siren came from afar.
警笛。
Jǐng chá chuī xiǎng le jǐng dí.
The police officer blew the whistle.
警笛，。
jǐng dí Tū rán xiǎng qǐ lái, dà jiā dōu lèng zhù le.
The siren suddenly sounded, and everyone was stunned.

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.

警jǐngwarning/police

笛díwhistle

警 refers to warning or police and 笛 is a whistle, so the word denotes a warning whistle.

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.

敬言警

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánspoken language, speech

Sound part声符shēngfú

敬

Same sound today

警 places 言 (speech) below 敬; 敬 gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

竹由笛

Meaning part形符xíngfú

竹竹zhúbamboo

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

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

笛 pairs 竹 (bamboo) with 由 as a sound part. The bamboo part shows the object is made of bamboo.

Appears in