处女地 (chǔ nǚ dì) — virgin land; uncultivated land

Definition

Literally 'virgin land' — land that has never been cultivated or developed. Used mostly in written/formal contexts to talk about undeveloped territory.

noun
virgin landuncultivated land
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 处女地。
    Zhè piàn chǔ nǚ dì hái cóng wèi yǒu rén gēng zhòng guò.
    This virgin land has never been cultivated by anyone.
  • 处女地。
    Kāi fā zhě jì huà jiāng chǔ nǚ dì biàn wéi nóng tián.
    Developers plan to turn the virgin land into farmland.
  • 处女地，。
    Zhè lǐ yuán běn shì yí piàn chǔ nǚ dì, rú jīn yǐ jiàn qǐ le cūn zhuāng.
    This was originally a stretch of virgin land; now a village has been built.

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.

处女virgin
处chùunmarried女nǚfemale
偏正Modifier + head
地dìland

The sense of 处女 as untouched or unmarried is applied to 地, so the land is pictured as never used.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 處; 处 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
夂夂zhǐ
几几jǐtable
Sound part声符shēngfú
虍
虍hū處chǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 處 pairs 虍, giving the sound, with 夂 and 几, a table, as meaning parts. The simplified 处 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 处 →

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

女 shows a woman with folded arms, kneeling or standing. In the modern form the figure faces right, and the small enclosed part is what is left of one arm.

Open 女 →

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
也
也yě地dì
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 →

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