彼岸 (bǐ àn) — the other shore, opposite bank; (Buddhism) para… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'the other shore' — in Buddhism it means the goal of enlightenment (paramita, 'the far shore'), used metaphorically as the hoped-for destination of wisdom or life.

noun

the other shoreopposite bank(Buddhism) paramitaperfection

Examples

彼岸。
Tā zhàn zài hé de bǐ àn.
He stands on the other side of the river.
彼岸。
Fó jiào tú xī wàng dào dá zhì huì de bǐ àn.
Buddhists hope to reach the other shore of wisdom.
彼岸。
Rén shēng de bǐ àn bìng bù yáo yuǎn.
The other shore of life is not far away.

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.

彼 points to the other side, and 岸 names the shore, giving the opposite bank.

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.

彳皮彼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

彳彳chì

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

皮pí彼bǐ

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

The left part 彳 points to the meaning, and the right part 皮 gives the sound.

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

屵屵àncliff

Sound part声符shēngfú

干

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

岸 shows 屵, a cliff, next to 干, which gives a clue to the sound; together they point to the edge of land.

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