TongTong
Sign in

飞行物 (fēi xíng wù) — flying object (often used in 不明飞行物 'unidentified flying object')

Definition

Almost always appears in the set phrase 不明飞行物 (UFO). On its own, it means any 'flying object' (drone, aircraft, UFO, etc.) — a general term, not a specific kind of vehicle.

noun
flying object (often used in 不明飞行物 'unidentified flying object')
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 飞行物。
    Zuó wǎn tiān kōng chū xiàn le yí gè bù míng fēi xíng wù.
    An unidentified flying object appeared in the sky last night.
  • 飞行物。
    Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū zhè zhǒng xīn xíng fēi xíng wù de fēi xíng yuán lǐ.
    Scientists are studying the flight principles of this new type of flying object.
  • 飞行物。
    Léi dá jiān cè dào duō gè fēi xíng wù tóng shí jìn rù kōng yù.
    Radar detected multiple flying objects entering the airspace at the same time.

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.

飞行fly
飞fēifly行xíngmove
偏正Modifier + head
物wùobject

飞行 means move through the air, and 物 means object, so the whole is a flying object.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飛; 飞 is its simplified writing.

For 飞, the traditional form 飛 pictures a bird flying upwards.

Open 飞 →

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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
牛牛niú
Sound part声符shēngfú
勿
勿wù物wù
Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Open 物 →
Appears in
Sky & Space

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.