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境 (jìng) — (bound form) border; boundary; territory; (bound form) condition; situation; circumstances

Definition

境 is a bound form meaning 'border' or 'situation/environment', almost always seen in compounds like 边境 (border), 环境 (environment), and 处境 (situation). Never used alone.

bound form
borderboundaryterritoryconditionsituationcircumstances

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè ge guó jiā de biān jìng hěn ān quán.
    This country's border is very safe.
  • 。
    Tā xiàn zài de shēng huó huán jìng bǐ yǐ qián hǎo duō le.
    His living environment is much better than before.
  • 。
    Gōng sī mù qián de chǔ jìng hěn kùn nan.
    The company is currently in a difficult situation.

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
竟
竟jìng境jìng
Same sound today

境 pairs 土 (earth) with 竟, which gives the sound; the 土 part carries the meaning.

Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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