间歇泉 (jiàn xiē quán) — geyser

Definition

noun
geyser
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 间歇泉。
    Zhè ge jiàn xiē quán měi liǎng gè xiǎo shí pēn fā yí cì.
    This geyser erupts every two hours.
  • 间歇泉。
    jiàn xiē quán Shì yì zhǒng zì rán qí guān.
    A geyser is a natural wonder.
  • 间歇泉。
    Bīng dǎo de jiàn xiē quán fēi cháng yǒu míng.
    The geysers in Iceland are very famous.

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.

间歇
间jiāninterval歇xiērest
联合Side by side
泉quánspring

间 means interval and 歇 means rest, and 泉 adds spring, describing a spring that stops intermittently.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 间 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
欠欠qiàn
Sound part声符shēngfú
曷
曷hé歇xiē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

歇 uses 曷 for its sound hé and 欠 for its meaning.

Open 歇 →

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

泉 pairs 白 (spring mouth) with 水 (water) to show water flowing from the source of a spring.

Open 泉 →

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