台中 (Tái zhōng) — Taichung, a major city in central Taiwan

Definition

noun

Taichunga major city in central Taiwan

台中。
Wǒ qù guò Tái zhōng yí cì.
I have been to Taichung once.
台中。
Tái zhōng Yǒu hěn duō hǎo chī de yè shì xiǎo chī.
Taichung has many delicious night market snacks.
台中。
Wǒ péng you zhù zài Tái zhōng.
My friend lives in Taichung.

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.

台 names Taiwan, and 中 gives center; the city is the central place of Taiwan.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臺; 台 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 台 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (窗台, 电视台) it is 臺; in others (台灯, 台球) (台风) it is 檯 or 台 or 颱.

The traditional form 臺 is the 喬 + 室 form; earlier versions combined a sound part with 室, and an old reading saw it as a watch tower.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.