西湖 (xī hú) — West Lake (famous scenic lake in Hangzhou, Chin… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

West Lake (famous scenic lake in Hangzhou, China)

Examples

西湖。
Wǒ qù nián qù guò yí cì xī hú.
I visited West Lake once last year.
西湖。
xī hú De fēng jǐng fēi cháng měi.
The scenery of West Lake is very beautiful.
西湖。
Hěn duō yóu kè xǐ huan zài xī hú biān sàn bù.
Many tourists like to walk by West Lake.

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.

西 means west, and 湖 means lake, so 西湖 names a lake lying to the west.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

胡

胡hú湖hú

Same sound today

湖 pairs 水 (water) with 胡 (hú), which gives the sound.

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