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象牙塔 (xiàng yá tǎ) — ivory tower (metaphor for academic seclusion or detachment from real-world issues)

Definition

A metaphor borrowed from English ('ivory tower'): academic or intellectual life seen as isolated from real-world concerns, often used critically.

noun
ivory tower (metaphor for academic seclusion or detachment from real-world issues)

Examples

  • 象牙塔。
    Shēng huó zài xiàng yá tǎ lǐ de xué zhě yǒu shí huì hū lüè shè huì de zhēn shí xū qiú.
    Scholars living in an ivory tower sometimes overlook the real needs of society.
  • 象牙塔，。
    Tā jué dìng zǒu chū xiàng yá tǎ, dào jī céng qù liǎo jiě shí jì qíng kuàng.
    He decided to step out of the ivory tower and go to the grassroots to understand the actual situation.
  • 象牙塔。
    Zhè piān shè lùn pī píng le gāo děng jiào yù zhōng de xiàng yá tǎ qīng xiàng.
    This editorial criticized the ivory-tower tendencies in higher education.

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.

象牙ivory
象xiàngelephant牙yátooth
偏正Modifier + head
塔tǎtower

From 象牙 ivory and 塔 tower, an ivory tower.

Characters in this word

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

象 is drawn as an elephant, with a long trunk, a head, and a big body.

Open 象 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 牙 →

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
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
荅
荅dá塔tǎ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

塔 shows 土 (earth) for the meaning and 荅 (dá) for the sound.

Open 塔 →
Appears in
School & Education

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