邮寄 (yóu jì) — to mail; to send by post | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

邮寄 is the verb for sending physical items through the postal system. Like 寄 but emphasizes the mail channel; 邮件 is the noun for mail/email itself.

verb

to mailto send by post

Examples

邮寄。
Wǒ zuó tiān yóu jì le yì fēng xìn.
I mailed a letter yesterday.
邮寄。
Qǐng bǎ zhè běn shū yóu jì gěi xiǎo wáng.
Please mail this book to Xiao Wang.
邮寄。
Zhè xiē dōng xī xū yào yóu jì dào běi jīng.
These things need to be mailed to Beijing.

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.

邮 means post and 寄 means send, so 邮寄 is to send by post.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 郵; 邮 is its simplified writing.

垂垂chuífar, remote
邑邑yìcity

The traditional form 郵 pairs 垂 (“far, remote”) with 邑 (“city”) to show a relay station; the simplified 邮 is a later shorthand.

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

宀奇寄

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánhouse

Sound part声符shēngfú

奇

奇qí寄jì

Same sound today

The 宀 part shows a roof, and 奇 gives the sound. Together they point to staying or lodging away from home.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Mail & Messaging

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