小河 (xiǎo hé) — creek, stream, brook | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

creekstreambrook

Measure word · 条

Examples

小河。
Zhè tiáo xiǎo hé de shuǐ hěn qīng chè.
The water in this creek is very clear.
小河。
Hái zi men zài xiǎo hé lǐ zhuō yú.
The children are catching fish in the stream.
小河。
xiǎo hé Liǎng àn zhǎng mǎn le yě huā.
Both banks of the brook are covered with wildflowers.

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.

小 means 'small' and 河 means 'river', giving a creek or stream.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

八八bāto divide; to separate
丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

何

何hé河hé

Same sound today

河 pairs 水 (water) with 何, which gives the sound. The 水 part marks it as a word for a river.

Appears in

Geography & Landforms

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