河床 (hé chuáng) — riverbed | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

riverbed

Measure word · 条

Examples

河床。
Zhè tiáo hé de hé chuáng hěn kuān.
The riverbed of this river is very wide.
，河床。
Gān hàn jì jié, hé chuáng huì lù chū lái.
In the dry season, the riverbed will be exposed.
河床。
Tā men yán zhe hé chuáng zǒu le hěn jiǔ.
They walked along the riverbed for a long time.

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.

河床 joins 河 (river) and 床 (bed), the bed 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.

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

广木床

广广guǎnghouse
木木mùtree

The 床 shape combines 广, a house, and 木, tree, to show a wooden bed inside a house.

Appears in

Geography & Landforms

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