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别墅 (bié shù) — villa

Definition

noun
villa
Measure word · 幢, 座

Examples

  • 别墅。
    Tā qù nián mǎi le yí zhuàng bié shù.
    He bought a villa last year.
  • 别墅。
    Zhè zuò bié shù lí hǎi biān hěn jìn de gōng yuán.
    This villa is very close to the park.
  • 别墅。
    bié shù Qián miàn yǒu yí gè dà yóu yǒng chí.
    There is a large swimming pool in front of the villa.

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.

别biéseparate
墅shùcountry house

别 points to a separate place, and 墅 to a country house; together they name a villa.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 別; 别 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 別 pairs 冎 (bone) with 刀 (knife), showing a knife cutting up bone and flesh. The simplified 别 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 别 →

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
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
野
野yě墅⁰shù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

墅 pairs 土 (earth) with 野, which supplies the sound.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Home & Housing

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