TongTong
Sign in

水边 (shuǐ biān) — waterside; water's edge

Definition

noun
watersidewater's edge

Examples

  • 水边。
    Wǒ men zài shuǐ biān sàn bù.
    We took a walk by the water.
  • 水边。
    Tā jiā jiù zài shuǐ biān fù jìn de cūn zi lǐ.
    His home is in a village near the water.
  • 水边。
    Diào yú de rén zuò zài shuǐ biān děng zhe.
    The fisherman sat at the water's edge waiting.

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.

水shuǐwater
边biānside

The 水 of water marks the 边, a side or edge, giving waterside.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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 邊; 边 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòwalking; movement
Sound part声符shēngfú
臱
臱mián邊biān(r)
Same sound today

The traditional form 邊 pairs 辶 (walking; movement) with the sound part 臱; the simplified 边 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 边 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.