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沙场 (shā chǎng) — battlefield; field of battle (often used in historical or literary contexts)

Definition

Literary/literary-historical word for 'battlefield', common in poetry, historical writing, and figurative use ('the arena of' a profession). Far more formal and bookish than 战场, which is the neutral everyday term.

noun
battlefieldfield of battle (often used in historical or literary contexts)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 沙场。
    Tā nián qīng shí céng zài shā chǎng shàng fèn yǒng shā dí.
    When he was young, he fought bravely on the battlefield.
  • 沙场。
    Zhè shǒu shī miáo xiě le shā chǎng de cāng liáng yǔ bēi zhuàng.
    This poem depicts the desolation and solemnity of the battlefield.
  • 沙场。
    Gǔ dài jiāng jūn cháng jiāng zì jǐ de gōng xūn kè zài shā chǎng de jì yì lǐ.
    Ancient generals often carved their achievements into the memory of the battlefield.

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.

沙shāsand
场chǎngfield

沙场 pairs 沙 (sand) and 场 (field), the sandy open ground where battles are fought.

Characters in this word

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

沙 puts 少 (dots) beside 水 (water), showing sand on a shoreline.

Open 沙 →

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 場; 场 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng場chǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 場 pairs 土 (earth) with 昜 as a sound part; the simplified 场 is a later abbreviation, so its parts do not have that historical role.

Open 场 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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