少林 (Shào lín) — Shaolin Temple (a Buddhist temple and martial a…

Definition

少林 refers to the Shaolin Temple in Henan — famous as both a Buddhist site and the origin of Shaolin kungfu martial arts.

noun

Shaolin Temple (a Buddhist temple and martial arts cultural landmark)

Measure word · 座

少林。
Wǒ xiǎo shí hou kàn guò yí bù guān yú Shào lín de diàn yǐng.
I watched a movie about Shaolin when I was young.
少林，。
Shào lín Bù jǐn shì fó jiào shèng dì, yě shì wǔ shù de fā yuán dì.
Shaolin is not only a Buddhist sacred site but also the birthplace of martial arts.
少林。
Tā zhuān chéng qù hé nán cān guān Shào lín tǎ lín.
He made a special trip to Henan to visit the Shaolin Pagoda Forest.

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.

The name 少林 joins 少, meaning young, with 林, meaning forest, evoking the young woods of the temple site.

Characters in this word

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

The form 少 is drawn as four dots, perhaps three grains of sand, to indicate a few or a little.

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

木木林

林 is made of two 木 (tree) placed side by side, showing many trees together, hence a forest.

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