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塘 (táng) — (bound form) pond; pool (as in 池塘, 荷塘); (bound form) embankment; dike (as in 塘坝, 海塘)

Definition

A bound form meaning 'pond' or 'embankment/dike.' It almost always appears as the second character in compounds like 池塘 (pond) or 海塘 (seawall), rarely standing alone.

bound form
pondpool (as in 池塘, 荷塘)embankmentdike (as in 塘坝, 海塘)

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè ge chí táng lǐ yǒu hěn duō yú.
    This pond has many fish.
  • 塘，。
    Xià tiān hé huā mǎn táng, jǐng sè hěn měi.
    In summer the lotus pond is full of flowers; the scenery is beautiful.
  • 。
    Tā men yán zhe chí táng biān sàn bù.
    They walked along the pond.

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tǔdirt
Sound part声符shēngfú
唐
唐táng塘táng
Same sound today

塘 combines 土, meaning dirt, with 唐, which gives the sound.

Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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