土窑 (tǔ yáo) — cave dwelling (in loess)

Definition

A traditional cave-style home carved into the yellow loess hills of northern China (especially the Loess Plateau). It is a dwelling, not a kiln, despite 窑 also meaning 'kiln' in other words.

noun
cave dwelling (in loess)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 土窑。
    Zhè ge cūn zi lǐ de tǔ yáo yǐ jīng yǒu jǐ bǎi nián de lì shǐ le.
    The cave dwellings in this village have a history of several hundred years.
  • 土窑。
    Yóu kè men duì huáng tǔ gāo yuán shàng de tǔ yáo fēi cháng gǎn xìng qù.
    Tourists are very interested in the cave dwellings on the Loess Plateau.
  • 土窑，。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù zài tǔ yáo lǐ zhǎng dà, duì nà lǐ de shēng huó hěn huái niàn.
    He grew up in a cave dwelling and misses the life there.

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
窑yáocave

土 (earth) and 窑 (cave) together describe a cave made of loess.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 窯; 窑 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave; hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
羔
羔gāo窯yáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 窯 has 穴 (hole) for a hole used to fire pottery, and 羔 for the sound. The simplified 窑 is a later shorthand.

Open 窑 →

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