TongTong
Sign in

广袤 (guǎng mào) — (noun) vastness; the breadth and width of land

Definition

A literary noun for the vast expanse of land — 广 covers the east–west breadth, 袤 the north–south length. Used almost exclusively in written Chinese, never in casual speech.

noun
vastnessthe breadth and width of land

Examples

  • 广袤。
    Zhè piàn tǔ dì de guǎng mào ràng rén gǎn dào zhèn hàn.
    The vastness of this land is awe-inspiring.
  • 广袤。
    guǎng mào Shì cǎo yuán zuì xiǎn zhù de tè zhēng.
    Expansiveness is the most striking feature of the grasslands.
  • ，广袤。
    Cóng shān dǐng wàng qù, dà dì de guǎng mào jìn shōu yǎn dǐ.
    From the mountaintop, the vastness of the earth is fully visible.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

广guǎngbreadth
袤màolength

广 names breadth and 袤 names length, so together they describe the vast extent of land.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 廣; 广 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
黃
黃huáng廣guǎng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 廣 combines 广 (meaning part) with 黃 (sound part); the simplified 广 is a later shorthand, not the full historical shape.

Open 广 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in
Size & Dimension

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.