环城 (huán chéng) — to encircle the city, to go around the city

Definition

环城 (huánchéng) means 'to go around / encircle a city' — it describes the path or route circling the urban area, often used as a modifier (环城公路, 环城公交).

verb
to encircle the cityto go around the city

Examples

  • 环城。
    Nǐ kě yǐ zuò huán chéng gōng jiāo qù shì zhōng xīn.
    You can take the city-circling bus to the city center.
  • 。
    Tā huán le yì quān chéng cái zhǎo dào nà jiā diàn.
    He went around the city once before finding that shop.
  • 环城。
    huán chéng Yì zhōu dà yuē xū yào liǎng gè xiǎo shí.
    Going around the city once takes about two hours.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

环huánencircle
城chéngcity

环 'encircle' + 城 'city' means to go around the city.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 環; 环 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
睘
睘qióng環huán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 環 pairs 玉 (jade) with a sound part; the simplified 环 is a shorthand and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 环 →

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
土土tǔsoil
Sound part声符shēngfú
成
成chéng城chéng
Same sound today

城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.

Open 城 →

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