山洪 (shān hóng) — mountain torrent; flash flood (from a mountain)

Definition

A sudden, violent rush of water down a mountainside after heavy rain — stronger and more destructive than ordinary flooding.

noun

mountain torrentflash flood (from a mountain)

Measure word · 场

山洪，。
Bào yǔ yǐn fā le shān hóng, chōng huǐ le dào lù.
The heavy rain triggered a mountain torrent that destroyed the road.
山洪。
Dāng dì zhèng fǔ jǐng gào jū mín zhù yì shān hóng.
The local government warned residents to watch out for flash floods.
山洪，。
shān hóng Guò hòu, cūn zhuāng lǐ yí piàn láng jí.
After the mountain torrent, the village was in a mess.

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.

山 means mountain and 洪 means flood, so 山洪 describes a flood rushing down from the mountains.

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.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

共

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

洪 is built from 水 (water) and 共 (gòng), with 共 giving the sound.