地心 (dì xīn) — earth's core; the core of the Earth

Definition

noun
earth's corethe core of the Earth

Examples

  • 地心
    Kē xué jiā tōng guò dì zhèn bō yán jiū le dì xīn de jié gòu.
    Scientists study the structure of the Earth's core through seismic waves.
  • 地心
    dì xīn De wēn dù fēi cháng gāo, kě néng chāo guò wǔ qiān shè shì dù.
    The temperature of the Earth's core is extremely high, possibly exceeding 5,000 degrees Celsius.
  • 地心
    dì xīn Zhǔ yào yóu tiě hé niè zǔ chéng.
    The Earth's core is mainly composed of iron and nickel.

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.

earth
xīncenter

地 and 心 combine to mean the center of the earth.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
earth
Sound part声符shēngfú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

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

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →

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