河滩 (hé tān) — river beach, sandbank along a river; sandy shoa…

Definition

The flat sandy or pebbly area along or in a riverbed — a river's own beach or sandbar, distinct from the ocean shore 海滩.

noun

river beachsandbank along a riversandy shoal or sandbar in a river

Measure word · 片

河滩。
Xià tiān hái zi men xǐ huan zài hé tān shàng wán shuǎ.
In summer, children like to play on the river beach.
，河滩。
Hé shuǐ tuì qù hòu, hé tān shàng liú xià le hěn duō bèi ké.
After the river receded, many shells were left on the sandbank.
河滩。
Tā men zài hé tān shàng dā le yí gè zhàng peng guò yè.
They set up a tent on the river beach to spend the night.

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.

滩tānbeach or sandbank

河 means river and 滩 means beach or sandbank, so together they mean a sandy area along 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

Sound part声符shēngfú

何

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 灘; 滩 is its simplified writing.

氵難灘

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

難

難nán灘tān

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

In the traditional form 灘, 氵 (water) marks the meaning and 難 gives the sound; the simplified 滩 is a shorthand.