望塔 (wàng da) — watchtower, lookout tower

Definition

noun

watchtowerlookout tower

Measure word · 座

Examples

望塔。
Wǒ men zài shān dǐng jiàn le yí zuò wàng da.
We built a watchtower on the mountain top.
望塔。
Zhè zuò wàng da yǒu sān shí mǐ gāo.
This watchtower is thirty meters tall.
望塔。
Cóng wàng da shàng kě yǐ kàn dào zhěng gè chéng shì.
From the watchtower you can see the whole city.

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.

望wànglook out

塔tǎtower

望 indicates looking out and 塔 is a tower, so the word names a high structure for watching.

Characters in this word

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

臣臣chéneye
𡈼𡈼𡈼person standing on the ground

望 originally showed 臣 (eye) beside 𡈼 (person standing on the ground): a person standing up and looking off into the distance. Later 月 was added, and the 臣 part became 亡.

Open 望 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

土荅塔

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔ

Sound part声符shēngfú

荅

荅dá塔tǎ

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

塔 shows 土 (earth) for the meaning and 荅 (dá) for the sound.

Open 塔 →

Appears in