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天井 (tiān jǐng) — small courtyard or atrium (in traditional Chinese architecture); skylight (opening in a roof); (mining) vertical shaft, raise

Definition

In traditional architecture, 天井 is the small open courtyard framed by rooms of a house, which also lets light and air in from above (like a skylight). In mining, it refers to a vertical shaft.

noun
small courtyard or atrium (in traditional Chinese architecture)skylight (opening in a roof)(mining) vertical shaftraise

Examples

  • 天井，。
    Zhè ge lǎo fáng zi de tiān jǐng bú dà, dàn hěn ān jìng.
    The small courtyard of this old house is not big but very quiet.
  • 天井，。
    Yáng guāng cóng tiān jǐng zhào jìn lái, wū zi lǐ hěn liàng.
    Sunlight comes in through the skylight, making the room bright.
  • 天井。
    Kuàng gōng men tōng guò tiān jǐng xià dào dì xià de gōng zuò qū.
    The miners go down to the underground working area through the shaft.

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.

天tiānsky
井jǐngwell

天 is sky and 井 is a well-like opening, naming a courtyard or shaft open to the sky.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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

The shape of 井 draws a square well with supports on four sides.

Open 井 →
Appears in
Home & Housing

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