峭壁 (qiào bì) — cliff, precipice | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A sheer, steep rock face — 'cliff' or 'precipice'. 峭 stresses the steepness; 壁 is 'wall', so the image is a wall-like vertical rock face, often emphasizing how high and dangerous it is.

noun

cliffprecipice

Measure word · 面

Examples

峭壁。
Nà zuò qiào bì yòu gāo yòu dǒu.
That cliff is both high and steep.
峭壁。
Dēng shān zhě zhèng zài pān dēng qiào bì.
The climber is scaling the cliff.
，峭壁。
Cóng yuǎn chù kàn, qiào bì xiàng yí miàn qiáng.
From a distance, the cliff looks like a wall.

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.

峭qiàosteep

A cliff is a 壁, or wall, that is 峭, steep.

Characters in this word

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

阜阜fùsoil mountain

Sound part声符shēngfú

肖

肖xiào峭qiào

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

The form 峭 shows 山, mountain, paired with 肖 for sound; an earlier shape used 阜, a mound, instead of 山.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

土辟壁

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

辟

辟pì壁bì

Same sound today

壁 combines 土 (earth) and 辟, which gives the sound. The whole means an earthen wall.

Appears in

Geography & Landforms

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