桥下 (qiáo xià) — under the bridge; the area beneath a bridge | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

under the bridgethe area beneath a bridge

Examples

桥下。
Tā men zhù zài qiáo xià de yí gè xiǎo fáng zi lǐ.
They live in a small house under the bridge.
桥下。
Zhè tiáo hé cóng qiáo xià liú guò.
This river flows under the bridge.
桥下。
Hái zi men zài qiáo xià wán.
The children are playing under the bridge.

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.

桥 names the bridge, and 下 locates something beneath it.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 橋; 桥 is its simplified writing.

木喬橋

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùwood

Sound part声符shēngfú

喬

喬qiáo橋qiáo

Same sound today

The traditional form 橋 pairs 木 (wood) with 喬 (qiáo), which gave the character its sound; the simplified 桥 is a later abbreviation.

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

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Appears in

Buildings & Structures

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