尖塔 (jiān tǎ) — steeple; spire

Definition

noun
steeplespire
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 尖塔。
    Nà zuò jiào táng de jiān tǎ gāo sǒng rù yún.
    The steeple of that church towers into the clouds.
  • 尖塔。
    Lǎo chéng qū yǒu xǔ duō bǎo cún wán hǎo de jiān tǎ.
    The old city has many well-preserved spires.
  • 尖塔。
    Shè jì shī zài wū dǐng shàng zēng jiā le yí gè jiān tǎ.
    The architect added a spire on top of the roof.

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.

尖jiānpointed
塔tǎtower

尖塔 joins 尖, pointed, with 塔, tower, to mean a tall pointed structure.

Characters in this word

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

尖 puts 小 (small) above 大 (large), showing the width of an object gradually changing from small to large.

Open 尖 →

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
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
荅
荅dá塔tǎ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

塔 shows 土 (earth) for the meaning and 荅 (dá) for the sound.

Open 塔 →

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