横 (héng) — horizontal, across, crosswise (adjective/adverb); horizontal stroke (noun, in Chinese characters); to cross (verb, a river, road, etc.)
Definition
Used for the 'horizontal' direction (a 横 stroke, 横着放) and the verb sense 'to cross (a river)' — more physical/geographic than 渡, which focuses on ferrying or getting through difficulty.
horizontalacrosscrosswise (adjective/adverb)horizontal stroke (noun, in Chinese characters)to cross (verb, a river, road, etc.)
Examples
- 横。Qǐng bǎ zhè zhāng zhǐ héng zhe fàng.Please place this paper horizontally.
- ，横。Xiě hàn zì shí, héng yào xiě dé píng wěn.When writing Chinese characters, horizontal strokes should be written steadily.
- 横。Tā men héng guò le nà tiáo dà hé.They crossed that big river.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 橫; 横 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
黃
黃huáng橫héng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 橫 has 木, meaning wood, beside 黃, which supplies the sound; the simplified 横 is a later abbreviation.
Appears in
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