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津门 (jīn mén) — (noun) checkpoint at a ferry, an inspection station on an ancient water transport route; (noun) another name for Tianjin, with literary and historical connotations

Definition

Literary, historical name for Tianjin (天津). The same characters also refer to an ancient ferry checkpoint on water routes to the capital — used in classical and literary writing, not everyday speech.

noun
checkpoint at a ferry, an inspection station on an ancient water transport routeanother name for Tianjin, with literary and historical connotations

Examples

  • 津门，。
    Tā chéng chuán zhì jīn mén, zhǔn bèi zhuǎn lù lù jìn jīng gǎn kǎo.
    He took a boat to the Jinmen ferry checkpoint, ready to switch to land travel and go to the capital for the civil exam.
  • 津门，。
    jīn mén Shì tiān jīn de yǎ chēng, zhì jīn zài wén shǐ zuò pǐn zhōng cháng jiàn.
    Jinmen is an elegant name for Tianjin, still commonly seen in literary and historical works.
  • 津门，。
    Gǔ shí jīn mén yí dài shāng gǔ yún jí, shí fēn fán huá.
    In ancient times, the Jinmen area was crowded with merchants and very prosperous.

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.

津jīnferry crossing
门méngate

“津” as a ferry crossing and “门” as a gate combine to mean a ferry checkpoint.

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
盡
盡jìn津jīn
Same sound today

津 is made from 水, water, and 盡, which supplies the sound.

Open 津 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →
Appears in
China — Places

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