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铺设 (pū shè) — to lay (tracks, pipes, cables); to install (a network or system)

Definition

A formal/written verb for laying and installing infrastructure — tracks, cables, pipes, pipelines. Use it for large-scale construction projects, not small everyday laying (e.g., 铺床 'make the bed').

verb
to lay (tracks, pipes, cables)to install (a network or system)

Examples

  • 铺设。
    Gōng rén men zhèng zài pū shè xīn de tiě lù guǐ dào.
    The workers are laying new railway tracks.
  • 铺设。
    Zhè tiáo hǎi dǐ guāng lǎn pū shè le zhěng zhěng liǎng nián.
    This submarine fiber-optic cable took a full two years to lay.
  • 铺设。
    Chéng shì dì xià guǎn wǎng de pū shè xū yào jīng mì guī huà.
    Laying the urban underground pipeline network requires precise planning.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

铺pùlay
设shèset up

铺 means lay and 设 means set up, so together they mean to lay and arrange tracks, pipes, or systems.

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 鋪; 铺 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīngold; metal
Sound part声符shēngfú
甫
甫fǔ鋪pū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鋪 pairs 金 (gold; metal) with 甫 as a sound part; the simplified 铺 is a shorthand.

Open 铺 →

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 設; 设 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì設shè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 設 uses 言 (speech) to show the meaning and 埶 to give the sound; this explanation is for 設, not the simplified 设.

Open 设 →
Appears in
Technology & Engineering

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