山河 (shān hé) — (noun) mountains and rivers (poetic reference to a country's land); (noun) territory; land of a nation

Definition

Literary/poetic term for 'mountains and rivers' as a metonym for a country's land or homeland — used in writing, speeches, and patriotic contexts, not everyday speech.

noun
mountains and rivers (poetic reference to a country's land)territoryland of a nation

Examples

  • 山河，。
    shān hé Zhuàng lì, lìng rén zàn tàn.
    The mountains and rivers are magnificent, breathtaking.
  • 山河，。
    Bǎo wèi wǒ men de shān hé, rén rén yǒu zé.
    Defending our territory is everyone's responsibility.
  • 山河，。
    Tā rè ài zhè piàn shān hé, jué xīn zhā gēn zài zhè lǐ.
    He loves this land and is determined to settle here.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

山shānmountain
河hériver

The '山' (mountains) and '河' (rivers) are paired, together evoking a country's land.

Characters in this word

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

山 shows three mountain peaks side by side.

Open 山 →

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.

Open 河 →

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