东城 (dōng chéng) — Dongcheng (district in Beijing) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Dongcheng (district in Beijing)

Examples

东城。
Wǒ zhù zài dōng chéng.
I live in Dongcheng.
东城。
dōng chéng Yǒu hěn duō zhù míng de jǐng diǎn.
Dongcheng has many famous scenic spots.
东城。
Tā měi tiān zuò dì tiě qù dōng chéng shàng bān.
He takes the subway to work in Dongcheng every day.

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.

东 east and 城 city combine to mean the eastern city area.

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 東; 东 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 東 originally drew a full bag tied at both ends. The simplified 东 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

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

土成城

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔsoil

Sound part声符shēngfú

成

成chéng城chéng

Same sound today

城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.

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