高度计 (gāo dù jì) — altimeter | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

altimeter

Measure word · 个

高度计。
Fēi xíng yuán yòng gāo dù jì cè liáng fēi xíng gāo dù.
The pilot uses an altimeter to measure flight altitude.
高度计。
Dēng shān zhě dài zhe gāo dù jì pá shàng le shān dǐng.
The mountaineer carried an altimeter to the summit.
高度计。
Zhè ge gāo dù jì xiǎn shì wǒ men mù qián de hǎi bá.
This altimeter shows our current altitude.

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.

高度altitude

偏正Modifier + head

高 and 度 give altitude; 计 means meter, so it is an altitude meter.

Characters in this word

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

高 was drawn as a tall building.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

石

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

度 has 又 (hand) and a changed form of 石; 石 gives a related sound, and the hand is tied to using the hand as a reference for measurement.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 計; 计 is its simplified writing.

言十計

The traditional form 計 pairs 言 (say) with 十 (all). The simplified 计 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical shape.