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湖底 (hú de) — bottom of a lake

Definition

noun
bottom of a lake

Examples

  • 湖底。
    hú de Yǒu hěn duō yú.
    There are many fish at the bottom of the lake.
  • 湖底。
    Tā men qián dào hú de tàn xiǎn.
    They dived to the bottom of the lake to explore.
  • 湖底。
    hú de De ní hěn ruǎn.
    The mud at the bottom of the lake is very soft.

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.

湖húlake
底dǐbottom

'湖' is a lake and '底' is a bottom, giving the lake bottom.

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
胡
胡hú湖hú
Same sound today

湖 pairs 水 (water) with 胡 (hú), which gives the sound.

Open 湖 →

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
广广guǎngbuilding
Sound part声符shēngfú
氐
氐dī底dǐ
Same sound today

底 pairs 广 (building) with 氐, pointing to the bottom or foundation of a building. Some read 氐 as a bowing figure or tree root, adding a sense of 'down'.

Open 底 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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