四邻 (sì lín) — one's neighbors; neighboring areas

Definition

noun
one's neighborsneighboring areas

Examples

  • 四邻。
    Tā de sì lín dōu hěn yǒu shàn.
    His neighbors are all very friendly.
  • 四邻。
    Zhè jiàn shì jīng dòng le sì lín.
    This matter alarmed the neighbors.
  • 四邻。
    sì lín Bā shè dōu lái bāng máng.
    All the neighbors came to help.

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.

四sìfour
邻línneighbor

“四” (four) and “邻” (neighbor) combine: the four surrounding neighbors.

Characters in this word

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

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.

Open 四 →

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 鄰; 邻 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as邑yì
Sound part声符shēngfú
粦
粦lín鄰lín
Same sound today

The traditional form 鄰 pairs 粦 (lín) as the sound part with 阝 (the full form 邑, a settlement) as the meaning part; 邻 is a simplified shorthand.

Open 邻 →

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