TongTong
Sign in

白宫 (Bái gōng) — White House (official residence of the U.S. president, often used metonymically for the U.S. government)

Definition

noun
White House (official residence of the U.S. president, often used metonymically for the U.S. government)

Examples

  • 白宫。
    Bái gōng Shì měi guó zǒng tǒng de guān dǐ.
    The White House is the official residence of the U.S. president.
  • 白宫。
    Bái gōng Jīn tiān fā biǎo le yí fèn shēng míng.
    The White House issued a statement today.
  • 白宫。
    Hěn duō yóu kè dōu huì qù huá shèng dùn cān guān Bái gōng.
    Many tourists visit the White House in Washington.

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.

白báiwhite
宫gōngpalace

White and palace combine to name the White House.

Characters in this word

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 宮; 宫 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀mián
  • 呂呂lǚ

The traditional form 宮 is built from 宀 and 呂.

Open 宫 →
Appears in
Government & Politics5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.