正南 (zhèng nán) — due south | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

due south

Examples

正南。
Zhè ge chéng shì wèi yú běi jīng de zhèng nán fāng xiàng.
This city is located due south of Beijing.
正南。
Zhǐ nán zhēn zhǐ xiàng zhèng nán.
The compass points due south.
正南。
zhèng nán De chuāng hu cǎi guāng hěn hǎo.
The south-facing window gets good light.

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.

正 means exact and 南 means south, so the direction is due south.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng正zhèng

Same sound today

正 pairs 止 with 丁; 止 marks the sense and 丁 gives the sound.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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