市中区 (Shì zhōng qū) — central city district

Definition

noun

central city district

市中区。
Tā de gōng sī jiù zài Shì zhōng qū.
His company is right in the central city district.
市中区。
Shì zhōng qū De jiāo tōng fēi cháng fāng biàn.
The transportation in the central city district is very convenient.
市中区。
Hěn duō yóu kè xǐ huan zhù zài Shì zhōng qū.
Many tourists like to stay in the central city district.

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.

市中city center

偏正Modifier + head

区qūdistrict

市中 means city center, and 区 is district; together they name a central city district.

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

兮兮xībustling

Sound part声符shēngfú

之

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

The old form 市 pairs 兮, meaning bustling, with 之, the sound part.

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 區; 区 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 區 is made from 匸 and 品; the simplified 区 is a shorthand.