要塞 (yào sài) — fortress, fort; strategic stronghold

Definition

noun

fortressfortstrategic stronghold

Measure word · 座

要塞，。
Zhè zuò yào sài jiàn yú míng cháo, fēi cháng jiān gù.
This fortress was built in the Ming dynasty and is very sturdy.
要塞。
Jūn duì zài yào sài lǐ jìn xíng fáng yù xùn liàn.
The army conducts defense training inside the fort.
要塞。
Tā men shǒu wèi zhe biān jiāng de zhòng yào yào sài.
They guard the important strategic stronghold on the frontier.

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.

要yàoimportant

塞sāifortress

要 means important and 塞 means fortress, so it is a strategically important stronghold.

Characters in this word

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

要 began as a drawing of a person with both hands pointing to the waist.

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

塞 combines 宀 (house), 工 (two items), and 廾 (two hands), showing hands stuffing items into a house.

Appears in