尖顶 (jiān dǐng) — top (pointed), tip, spire, pinnacle | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A 'spire' or pointed top — emphasizes the SHAPE (pointed/peaked), not just height. Use for church spires, pagoda tops, mountain peaks, unlike a flat 顶.

noun

top (pointed)tipspirepinnacle

Measure word · 个

Examples

尖顶。
Zhè zuò jiào táng de jiān dǐng hěn gāo.
The spire of this church is very tall.
尖顶。
Shān de jiān dǐng shàng yǒu yí gè xiǎo tíng zi.
At the top of the mountain there is a small pavilion.
尖顶。
Tǎ de jiān dǐng shì yuán xíng de.
The top of the pagoda is round.

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

尖 (pointed) and 顶 (top) combine to mean a pointed top.

Characters in this word

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

小大尖

小小xiǎosmall
大大dàlarge

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

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 頂; 顶 is its simplified writing.

丁頁頂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng頂dǐng

Same sound today

The traditional form 頂 pairs 頁, meaning head, with 丁, which supplies the sound; the simplified 顶 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

Buildings & Structures Shapes

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