天秤座 (Tiān chèng zuò) — Libra (zodiac sign) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Libra (zodiac sign)

Examples

天秤座。
Wǒ shì Tiān chèng zuò de.
I am a Libra.
天秤座。
Tiān chèng zuò De rén tōng cháng hěn wēn hé.
People born under Libra are usually gentle.
天秤座。
Tā xiāng xìn Tiān chèng zuò shì tā de shǒu hù xīng zuò.
She believes Libra is her guardian constellation.

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.

天秤scales

天tiānheaven秤chèngscales

偏正Modifier + head

天 “heaven”, 秤 “scales”, and 座 “seat” give the sky-scales constellation.

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

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

广坐座

Meaning part形符xíngfú

广广guǎnghouse on cliff

Sound part声符shēngfú

坐

坐zuò座zuò

Same sound today

座 pairs 广, a house on a cliff, with 坐 to give the sound.

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