南极 (nán jí) — South Pole

Definition

noun
South Pole

Examples

  • 南极。
    Kē xué jiā měi nián dōu qù nán jí zuò yán jiū.
    Scientists go to the South Pole every year to do research.
  • 南极。
    nán jí De dōng tiān fēi cháng hán lěng.
    The winter at the South Pole is extremely cold.
  • 南极?
    Nǐ jiàn guò nán jí de qǐ é ma?
    Have you ever seen penguins from the South 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.

南nánsouth
极jípole

'南' points to the south, '极' marks the pole, together naming the South Pole.

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.

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.

Open 极 →

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