坳 (ào) — mountain pass, col (between two peaks)

Definition

noun

mountain passcol (between two peaks)

Easily confused

坳。
Wǒ men fān guò le nà ge shān ào.
We crossed that mountain col.
坳。
Zhè ge shān ào hěn gāo.
This mountain col is very high.
坳。
Cóng shān ào kě yǐ kàn dào liǎng biān de shān gǔ.
From the mountain col you can see the valleys on both sides.

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.

土幼坳

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

幼

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part of 坳 is 土 (earth); the right part is 幼, which gives the sound.