该市 (gāi shì) — the said city; that city; this city (formal, written)

Definition

Formal written phrase meaning 'the said city' — used in reports and news to refer back to a city already mentioned. Read as a single unit, literally 'the + city'.

pronoun
the said citythat citythis city (formal, written)

Examples

  • 该市。
    gāi shì De rén kǒu yǐ jīng chāo guò yì qiān wàn.
    The city's population has already exceeded ten million.
  • 该市。
    gāi shì De jīng jì zēng zhǎng xùn sù.
    The city's economy is growing rapidly.
  • 该市。
    gāi shì Wèi yú zhōng guó dōng bù yán hǎi dì qū.
    The city is located in the eastern coastal region of China.

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.

该gāithat/said
市shìcity

The city just mentioned, with 该 meaning 'that/said' and 市 meaning 'city'.

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 該; 该 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
亥
亥hài該gāi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 該 pairs 言 (speech) with 亥 as a sound part; the simplified 该 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 该 →

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
兮兮xībustling
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī市shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The old form 市 pairs 兮, meaning bustling, with 之, the sound part.

Open 市 →

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