沙河 (Shā hé) — Shahe (a city in Hebei province, China)

Definition

noun
Shahe (a city in Hebei province, China)

Examples

  • 沙河。
    Wǒ qù nián qù le Shā hé lǚ yóu.
    I went to Shahe for travel last year.
  • 沙河。
    Shā hé Shì hé běi shěng de yí gè chéng shì.
    Shahe is a city in Hebei province.
  • 沙河？
    Nǐ tīng shuō guò Shā hé ma?
    Have you heard of Shahe?

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
河hériver

沙 and 河 combine as a sandy river, naming the city after that river.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
何
何hé河hé
Same sound today

河 pairs 水 (water) with 何, which gives the sound. The 水 part marks it as a word for a river.

Open 河 →

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