冥府 (míng fǔ) — the underworld; Hades; netherworld

Definition

Literary Chinese term for the underworld — the realm of the dead in mythology and classical-style writing. Far more formal than everyday terms like 地狱, and used mostly in literature, mythology, and fantasy.

noun
the underworldHadesnetherworld

Examples

  • 冥府
    Zài gǔ xī là shén huà zhōng, míng fǔ shì sǐ zhě líng hún de guī sù.
    In ancient Greek mythology, the underworld is the final destination of the souls of the dead.
  • 冥府
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō miáo huì le yí gè hēi àn de míng fǔ shì jiè.
    This novel depicts a dark underworld.
  • 冥府
    Tā mèng jiàn zì jǐ lái dào le míng fǔ, jiàn dào le xǔ duō wáng líng.
    He dreamed that he came to the underworld and saw many spirits of the dead.

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.

palace

Dark describes the palace, so 冥府 gives the image of an underworld court.

Characters in this word

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

  • cloth cover
  • sun
  • gǒngtwo hands

Originally, 冥 was made from 冖 (cloth cover), 日 (sun), and 廾 (two hands) to show darkness; the 廾 part later changed.

Open 冥 →

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
广广guǎngbuilding
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

府 shows a type of building with 广, while 付 gives the character its sound.

Open 府 →

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