本市 (běn shì) — this city, our city (the city where the speaker… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

this cityour city (the city where the speaker is located or the city referred to in context)

Examples

本市。
běn shì De tiān qì hěn hǎo.
The weather in this city is very good.
本市。
Huān yíng lái dào běn shì lǚ yóu.
Welcome to travel to this city.
本市。
běn shì De jū mín dōu hěn yǒu hǎo.
The residents of this city are all very friendly.

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.

'本' (this) + '市' (city) means this city.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

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

兮兮xībustling

Sound part声符shēngfú

之

之zhī市shì

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

The old form 市 pairs 兮, meaning bustling, with 之, the sound part.

Appears in

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