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荒原 (huāng yuán) — wasteland; wilderness

Definition

noun
wastelandwilderness

Examples

  • 荒原。
    Zhè piàn huāng yuán shàng cùn cǎo bù shēng.
    Nothing grows on this wasteland.
  • 荒原。
    Tā zài huāng yuán zhōng mí shī le fāng xiàng.
    He lost his way in the wilderness.
  • 荒原。
    Tā de nèi xīn xiàng yí piàn huāng yuán.
    His heart is like a wasteland.

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.

荒huāngdesolate
原yuánplain

荒 gives desolation and 原 gives open land, together giving wasteland.

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss, plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
巟
巟huāng荒huāng
Same sound today

荒 is built from 艹 (grass, plant) and 巟, with 巟 giving the sound huāng.

Open 荒 →

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

原 combines 泉 (spring) and 厂 (cliff), picturing a spring bursting from a cliff-side, which gives the sense of origin or source.

Open 原 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

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