北极光 (běi jí guāng) — aurora borealis; northern lights | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

aurora borealisnorthern lights

Examples

，北极光。
Zài běi jí, dōng tiān jīng cháng néng kàn dào běi jí guāng.
In the Arctic, you can often see the northern lights in winter.
北极光。
běi jí guāng Shì yì zhǒng fēi cháng měi lì de zì rán xiàn xiàng.
The aurora borealis is a very beautiful natural phenomenon.
北极光。
Wǒ xī wàng néng qīn yǎn kàn dào yí cì běi jí guāng.
I hope to see the northern lights with my own eyes once.

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.

北极north pole

北běinorth极jípole

偏正Modifier + head

北 means north, 极 means pole, and 光 means light; together they name the light seen near the north pole.

Characters in this word

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

The form 北 shows two people standing back to back. It originally meant 'back'.

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

木及极

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree, wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

及

及jí极jí

Same sound today

极 pairs 木 (tree, wood) with 及, which provides the sound.

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

火火huǒfire
卩卩jiékneeling person

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

Appears in

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