江东区 (jiāng dōng ōu) — Jiangdong District (a district in Tokyo, Japan)

Definition

noun

Jiangdong District (a district in Tokyo, Japan)

江东区。
Wǒ zhù zài jiāng dōng ōu.
I live in Jiangdong District.
江东区。
jiāng dōng ōu Yǒu hěn duō zhù míng de sì miào.
Jiangdong District has many famous temples.
江东区。
Cóng jiāng dōng ōu zuò dì tiě dào dōng jīng zhàn hěn fāng biàn.
It's very convenient to take the subway from Jiangdong District to Tokyo Station.

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.

江东east of the river

偏正Modifier + head

区qūdistrict

江东 names the area east of the river and 区 is a district, so it is the district of that name.

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.

氵工江

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng江jiāng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

江 puts 氵, the water side, beside 工, which gives a sound; the water part points to its river meaning.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 東; 东 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 東 originally drew a full bag tied at both ends. The simplified 东 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 區; 区 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 區 is made from 匸 and 品; the simplified 区 is a shorthand.