河岸 (hé àn) — riverbank | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

riverbank

Measure word · 个

Examples

河岸。
Wǒ men yán zhe hé àn sàn bù.
We took a walk along the riverbank.
河岸。
hé àn Shàng zhǎng mǎn le liǔ shù.
Willow trees grew all along the riverbank.
河岸，。
Cóng hé àn shàng kàn, shuǐ miàn hěn píng jìng.
Looking from the riverbank, the water was very calm.

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.

河 (river) and 岸 (bank) together mean the bank of a river.

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

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.

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

屵屵àncliff

Sound part声符shēngfú

干

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

岸 shows 屵, a cliff, next to 干, which gives a clue to the sound; together they point to the edge of land.

Appears in

Geography & Landforms

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