山顶 (shān dǐng) — hilltop, mountain top, summit | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

山顶 is the literal top of a mountain, used for places and physical features. Unlike 高峰 or 巅峰, it has no figurative 'peak of career/achievement' sense.

noun

hilltopmountain topsummit

Measure word · 座

Examples

山顶。
Cóng shān dǐng kě yǐ kàn dào měi lì de fēng jǐng.
From the hilltop you can see beautiful scenery.
山顶。
Tā men zhōng yú pá dào le shān dǐng.
They finally climbed to the top of the mountain.
山顶。
shān dǐng Shàng yǒu yí zuò gǔ lǎo de jiàn zhù.
There is an ancient building on the mountain top.

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.

山shānmountain

The 山 names the hill or mountain, and the 顶 gives its highest part.

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.

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

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Geography & Landforms

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