北极 (běi jí) — the North Pole; the Arctic region | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

北极 refers only to the North Pole and Arctic region. The sibling 两极 means both poles together or 'two opposite extremes'.

noun

the North Polethe Arctic region

Examples

北极。
běi jí Shì dì qiú shàng zuì lěng de dì fāng zhī yī.
The North Pole is one of the coldest places on Earth.
。
běi jí Xióng shēng huó zài bīng tiān xuě dì lǐ.
Polar bears live in the icy and snowy world.
北极。
Kē xué jiā zài běi jí yán jiū qì hòu biàn huà.
Scientists study climate change at the North Pole.

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.

极jíextreme end; pole

The first part gives the direction north, and the second part means the extreme end, so together it names 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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Geography & Landforms

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