宽街 (kuān jiē) — wide street; broad street (often used in street names)

Definition

Often used as a proper name (Broad Street, Wide Street) rather than literally describing any wide street — when it does, it pairs mainly with 这条 / 的口 as a fixed place name.

noun
wide streetbroad street (often used in street names)
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 宽街。
    Zhè tiáo kuān jiē shì chéng shì lǐ zuì fán huá de shāng yè jiē.
    This wide street is the busiest commercial street in the city.
  • 宽街。
    Wǒ men yuē zài kuān jiē de dōng kǒu jiàn miàn ba.
    Let's meet at the east entrance of Broad Street.
  • 宽街。
    Tā zhù zài kuān jiē fù jìn de yí dòng lǎo fáng zi lǐ.
    He lives in an old house near Broad Street.

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.

宽kuānwide
街jiēstreet

宽 (wide) describes 街 (street), meaning a broad street.

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 寬; 宽 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánhouse
Sound part声符shēngfú
萈
萈huán寬kuān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 寬 pairs 宀, a house, with 萈, a goat used for sound, to show a spacious house; the simplified 宽 is a later abbreviation.

Open 宽 →

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
行行xíng
Sound part声符shēngfú
圭
圭guī街jiē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

街 combines 行 and 圭: 行 is the meaning part, and 圭 is the sound part. Originally, 圭 drew a pair of ritual axes, not earth.

Open 街 →

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