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南部 (nán bù) — southern part, south

Definition

Names the southern part of a defined area (a country, region, or city). Use 南部 when paired with a place name (中国南部); 南方 is more general ('the south').

noun
southern partsouth

Examples

  • 南部。
    Wǒ men xué xiào nán bù de jiào shì hěn ān jìng.
    The classrooms in the southern part of our school are very quiet.
  • 南部。
    Zhè ge gōng yuán nán bù yǒu yì tiáo xiǎo hé.
    There is a small river in the southern part of this park.
  • 南部。
    Wǒ měi tiān qù chéng shì de nán bù sàn bù.
    I go for a walk in the southern part of the city every day.

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
部bùpart

南 contributes south and 部 contributes part, giving the southern part.

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
邑邑yì
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu部bù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

部 pairs 咅, which gives the sound, with 邑. It originally named a place in today's Gansu.

Open 部 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Directions

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