河畔 (hé pàn) — riverside | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary word for 'riverside' — the bank or area beside a river. 河流 refers to the river itself (the flowing water), while 河畔 is the land along its edge.

noun

riverside

Examples

，河畔。
Chūn tiān, hé pàn de liǔ shù dōu fā yá le.
In spring, the willow trees along the riverside have all sprouted.
河畔。
Wǒ men zuò zài hé pàn de cháng yǐ shàng liáo tiān kàn rì luò.
We sat on the bench by the riverside chatting and watching the sunset.
河畔。
Zhè jiā hé pàn biān de xiǎo jiǔ bā hěn shòu nián qīng rén huān yíng.
This small bar by the riverside is very popular among young people.

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 names the river and 畔 names its side, together giving riverside.

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.

田半畔

Meaning part形符xíngfú

田田tiánfield

Sound part声符shēngfú

半

半bàn畔pàn

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

The left 田 shows a field, and the right 半 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Geography & Landforms

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