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深度 (shēn dù) — depth (physical measurement of distance); profundity; depth (of thought, content, or meaning); (adjective) in-depth; deep (used before nouns to indicate high degree or thoroughness)

Definition

深度 is a noun for the measurable or figurative 'depth' of something (a pool, an analysis), or an adjective before a noun meaning 'in-depth' (e.g. 深度改革). For 'deep/profound' describing a feeling or understanding directly, use 深刻 instead.

noun
depth (physical measurement of distance)profunditydepth (of thought, content, or meaning)
adjective
in-depthdeep (used before nouns to indicate high degree or thoroughness)

Examples

  • 深度。
    Zhè ge yóu yǒng chí de shēn dù shì liǎng mǐ.
    The depth of this swimming pool is two meters.
  • 深度，。
    Tā de guān diǎn hěn yǒu shēn dù, zhí dé sī kǎo.
    His viewpoint is very profound and worth thinking about.
  • 深度，。
    Gōng sī jìn xíng le shēn dù gǎi gé, xiào guǒ hěn hǎo.
    The company carried out in-depth reforms, and the results were good.

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.

深shēndeep
度dùdegree

The idea of deep with the idea of degree forms the sense of depth.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𥥍
𥥍𥥍深shēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

深 is built from 氵, the side form of 水 “water”, and 𥥍, which supplies the sound.

Open 深 →

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
又又yòuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
石
石shí度dù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

度 has 又 (hand) and a changed form of 石; 石 gives a related sound, and the hand is tied to using the hand as a reference for measurement.

Open 度 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Abstract ConceptsSize & Dimension

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