拐角 (guǎi jiǎo) — corner (of a street or road); turning | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

corner (of a street or road)turning

Measure word · 个

Examples

拐角。
Qián biān guǎi jiǎo yǒu yì jiā cān tīng.
There is a restaurant at the corner ahead.
拐角。
Nǐ dào le nà ge guǎi jiǎo zuǒ zhuǎn jiù dào le.
When you reach that corner, turn left and you'll be there.
拐角。
Kāi chē guò guǎi jiǎo shí qǐng jiǎn sù.
Please slow down when driving around the corner.

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.

拐 describes a turning place, and 角 names the corner, giving a road corner.

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

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

冎

冎guǎ拐guǎi

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拐 pairs 扌, a hand radical written in full as 手, with 冎, which provides the sound guǎ.

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

The form 角 is a picture of a horn.

Appears in

Directions Streets & Addresses

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