红石 (hóng shí) — (place name) Gongshi (likely a toponym, but reading is uncertain)

Definition

A proper name used for a place in China (a town or county). The reading here, Gōngshí, is one local pronunciation; other places with the same characters may be read Hóngshí.

noun
(place name) Gongshi (likely a toponym, but reading is uncertain)

Examples

  • 红石。
    Wǒ cóng lái méi qù guò hóng shí.
    I have never been to Gongshi.
  • 红石，。
    hóng shí Shì yí gè xiǎo zhèn, fēng jǐng hěn měi.
    Gongshi is a small town with beautiful scenery.
  • 红石。
    Tā zài hóng shí zhù le sān nián.
    He lived in Gongshi for three years.

Origin

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 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng紅hóng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.

Open 红 →

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

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Open 石 →

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