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新田 (Xīn tián) — Xintian (county in Hunan, China)

Definition

noun
Xintian (county in Hunan, China)

Examples

  • 新田。
    Xīn tián Shì hú nán shěng de yí gè xiàn.
    Xintian is a county in Hunan Province.
  • 新田，。
    Wǒ qù nián qù guò Xīn tián, nà lǐ fēng jǐng hěn měi.
    I went to Xintian last year; the scenery there is beautiful.
  • 新田。
    Xīn tián Xiàn yǐ nóng yè wéi zhǔ.
    Xintian County relies mainly on agriculture.

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.

新xīnnew
田tiánfield

新 means new and 田 means field; together they form the place name Xintian, literally a new field.

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.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
斤斤jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn新xīn
Same sound today

The shape originally paired 斤, for chopping wood, with 辛 for sound. It was borrowed for its sound to write 新, so the chopping-wood parts are unrelated to 'new'.

Open 新 →

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

田 looks like a field divided into four sections.

Open 田 →
Appears in
China — Places

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