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量级 (liàng jí) — order of magnitude; weight class (in boxing, wrestling, etc.); class or level of capability (figurative)

Definition

A noun built from 量 (quantity) + 级 (grade/level), used in technical contexts like earthquake magnitude, weight class in combat sports, and figuratively for 'tier' of skill or scale.

noun
order of magnitudeweight class (in boxing, wrestling, etc.)class or level of capability (figurative)

Examples

  • 量级6.5。
    Zhè cì dì zhèn de liàng jí shì 6. 5.
    The magnitude of this earthquake is 6.5.
  • 量级。
    Zhè ge quán jī shǒu shǔ yú zhōng liàng jí.
    This boxer belongs to the middleweight class.
  • ，量级。
    Zài biān chéng bǐ sài zhōng, tā men shì dì yī liàng jí de xuǎn shǒu.
    In the programming competition, they are top-tier contestants.

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.

量liángquantity
级jílevel

量 'quantity' specifies the kind of 级 'level', giving order of magnitude or class.

Characters in this word

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

  • 日日rìsun
  • 東東dōngbag; east

量 has 日 (sun) over 東 (bag; east). Some explanations suggest measuring under the sun or the sun rising in the east, but the exact origin is unclear.

Open 量 →

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 級; 级 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí級jí
Same sound today

The traditional form 級 has 糹 (thread) and 及 as a sound part; its original sense was a sequence related to silk. The simplified 级 is a later shorthand.

Open 级 →
Appears in
Science (General)Units & Measurement

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