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耸立 (sǒng lì) — to tower, to stand tall (of mountains, buildings, monuments)

Definition

Written/literary verb for tall things 'towering' — used for mountains and buildings. Close to 屹立 and 矗立; 耸立 emphasizes height rising up (often into the sky/clouds).

verb
to towerto stand tall (of mountains, buildings, monuments)

Examples

  • 耸立。
    Chéng shì zhōng de gāo lóu sǒng lì zài yún duān.
    The tall buildings in the city tower into the clouds.
  • 耸立。
    Yuǎn chù de shān fēng sǒng lì rù yún zhōng.
    The distant mountain peaks tower into the clouds.
  • 耸立。
    Jì niàn bēi sǒng lì zài guǎng chǎng zhōng yāng.
    The monument stands tall in the center of the square.

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.

耸sǒngtowering
立lìstand

Here '耸' gives the sense of towering, and '立' means to stand, describing something standing high.

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 聳; 耸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěr
Sound part声符shēngfú
從
從cóng聳sǒng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 聳 pairs 耳 (ear) with 從 (cóng) to give the sound; the simplified 耸 is a later shorthand.

Open 耸 →

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

立 pictures a person standing on the ground.

Open 立 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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