TongTong
Sign in

坊 (fāng) — (bound form) small workshop / mill; (bound form) shop / studio; (bound form) memorial archway / neighborhood gate

Definition

Bound form (always part of a compound) meaning a small workshop or shop (磨坊 mill, 染坊 dyehouse), or a traditional decorative archway (牌坊). It is never used on its own — it only appears attached to another character.

bound form
small workshop / millshop / studiomemorial archway / neighborhood gate

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè jiā mò fāng yǐ jīng yǒu wǔ shí nián de lì shǐ le.
    This mill has been around for fifty years.
  • 坊，。
    Tā zài chéng lǐ kāi le yì jiā shū fāng, zhuān mén yìn gǔ shū.
    He opened a bookshop in town that specializes in printing ancient books.
  • 。
    Cūn kǒu nà zuò gǔ lǎo de pái fāng shì míng dài jiàn de.
    That old memorial archway at the village entrance was built in the Ming Dynasty.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
方
方fāng坊fáng
Same sound today

坊 is made of 土 (earth) beside 方 (fāng); 方 supplies the sound.

Appears in
Buildings & Structures

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.