南侧 (nán cè) — southern side; south side

Definition

noun
southern sidesouth side
Easily confused

Examples

  • 南侧。
    Zhè zuò dà lóu de nán cè yǒu yí gè huā yuán.
    There is a garden on the southern side of this building.
  • 南侧。
    Cóng nán cè jìn rù huì gèng kuài dào dá huì yì shì.
    Entering from the south side will get to the meeting room faster.
  • 南侧。
    Wǒ men de sù shè zài xiào yuán de nán cè.
    Our dormitory is on the southern side of the campus.

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.

南nánsouth
侧cèside

'南' means south and '侧' means side, so it denotes the south side.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 南 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 側; 侧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
則
則zé側cè
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 側 has 亻, a person, and uses 則 to show its sound. The simplified 侧 is a later shorthand.

Open 侧 →

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