三角洲 (sān jiǎo zhōu) — delta (geographical landform) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

delta (geographical landform)

Measure word · 个

Examples

三角洲。
Cháng jiāng sān jiǎo zhōu shì zhōng guó zhòng yào de jīng jì qū yù.
The Yangtze River Delta is an important economic region in China.
三角洲。
Zhè ge sān jiǎo zhōu de miàn jī měi nián dōu zài kuò dà.
The area of this delta is expanding every year.
三角洲。
Ní luó hé sān jiǎo zhōu shì gǔ āi jí wén míng de fā yuán dì.
The Nile Delta is the birthplace of ancient Egyptian civilization.

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.

三角triangle

三sānthree角jiǎocorner

偏正Modifier + head

洲zhōulandform

三角 means three corners, and 洲 means landform; together they name a triangular delta.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

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

The form 角 is a picture of a horn.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

州

州zhōu洲zhōu

Same sound today

洲 is built from 水 (water) and 州, which gives the sound.

Appears in

Geography & Landforms

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