土堆 (tǔ duī) — mound of earth; pile of dirt

Definition

noun
mound of earthpile of dirt
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 土堆。
    Huā yuán lǐ yǒu yí gè hěn dà de tǔ duī.
    There is a big mound of earth in the garden.
  • 土堆。
    Hái zi men zài tǔ duī shàng wán shuǎ.
    The children are playing on the pile of dirt.
  • ，土堆。
    Nóng mín bǎ tǔ duī zài tián biān, xíng chéng yí gè xiǎo tǔ duī.
    The farmer piled soil by the field, forming a small mound.

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.

土tǔearth
堆duīpile

土 earth and 堆 pile combine to picture a pile made of earth.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 土 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
隹
隹zhuī堆duī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

堆 is built from 土 (earth) and 隹, which supplies the sound.

Open 堆 →

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