圣城 (shèng chéng) — Holy City (e.g., Jerusalem, Mecca, or other cit…

Definition

noun

Holy City (e.g., Jerusalem, Mecca, or other city sacred to a religion)

Measure word · 座

圣城。
Měi nián dōu yǒu chéng qiān shàng wàn de cháo shèng zhě qián wǎng shèng chéng.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims travel to the Holy City.
圣城。
shèng chéng De zōng jiào fēn wéi lìng rén sù rán qǐ jìng.
The religious atmosphere of the Holy City inspires awe.
圣城。
Tā zài shèng chéng de lì shǐ yí zhǐ zhōng xué xí le xǔ duō wén huà zhī shi.
He learned a lot of cultural knowledge at the historical sites in the Holy City.

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.

圣 gives sacredness and 城 gives the city.

Characters in this word

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 聖; 圣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

呈

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 聖 puts 耳 (ear) beside 呈, which gives the sound; the simplified 圣 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical parts.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

土成城

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔsoil

Sound part声符shēngfú

成

Same sound today

城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.

Appears in