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天边 (tiān biān) — the horizon; a very distant place; the ends of the earth

Definition

Literally 'edge of the sky' — a poetic, literary way to say 'the horizon' or 'a very faraway place.' More evocative than the plain 远处.

noun
the horizona very distant placethe ends of the earth

Examples

  • 天边。
    Tài yáng cóng tiān biān shēng qǐ lái le.
    The sun rose from the horizon.
  • 天边，。
    Tā qù le tiān biān gōng zuò, hěn shǎo huí jiā.
    He went to work at a faraway place and rarely comes home.
  • 天边。
    tiān biān Piāo lái yì duǒ yún.
    A cloud drifts from the horizon.

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
边biānedge

天 (sky) and 边 (edge) mark the sky's edge, hence horizon or a very distant place.

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 →

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 邊; 边 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalking; movement
Sound part声符shēngfú
臱
臱mián邊biān(r)
Same sound today

The traditional form 邊 pairs 辶 (walking; movement) with the sound part 臱; the simplified 边 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 边 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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