高铁 (gāo tiě) — high-speed rail | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

高铁 is China's high-speed rail — faster than an ordinary 火车 (train) and referring to the modern bullet-train service, not the tracks themselves (that's 铁路).

noun

high-speed rail

Measure word · 趟

Examples

高铁。
Wǒ zuò gāo tiě qù běi jīng.
I take the high-speed rail to Beijing.
高铁？
gāo tiě Piào guì bú guì?
Is the high-speed rail ticket expensive?
高铁。
Cóng běi jīng dào shàng hǎi kě yǐ zuò gāo tiě.
From Beijing to Shanghai you can take the high-speed rail.

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.

高 expresses high level, while 铁 stands for rail transport.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鐵; 铁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢧤

𢧤𢧤鐵tiě

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

The traditional form 鐵 pairs 金 (metal) with 𢧤 as a sound part; the simplified 铁 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

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