话机 (huà jī) — telephone (device, handset) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

话机 (huàjī) refers to the physical telephone device/handset itself, not the network or call. More concrete and old-fashioned than the everyday word 电话.

noun

telephone (device, handset)

Measure word · 部

Examples

话机。
Tā ná qǐ huà jī bō le yí gè hào mǎ.
He picked up the phone and dialed a number.
。
Bàn gōng shì de huà jī yì zhí xiǎng gè bù tíng.
The phone in the office kept ringing.
。
Zhè bù lǎo huà jī hái néng yòng.
This old phone still works.

Origin

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.

话huàtelephone talk

机jīdevice

话 as telephone talk and 机 as device combine to mean a telephone instrument.

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánword

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠯑

𠯑𠯑話huà

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

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

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

木几机

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree; wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

几jǐ机jī

Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

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