象限 (xiàng xiàn) — quadrant | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

quadrant

Examples

象限。
Shù xué kè shàng wǒ men xué le sì gè xiàng xiàn.
In math class, we learned about the four quadrants.
象限。
Zhè ge diǎn wèi yú dì èr xiàng xiàn.
This point is located in the second quadrant.
象限。
Yuán kě yǐ bèi fēn chéng sì gè xiàng xiàn.
A circle can be divided into four quadrants.

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xiàngfigure

象 points to the geometric figure, 限 to the limits that mark a section; together they denote one bounded part of a plane.

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.

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

⻖Written in full as阜fùmound

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

艮gèn限xiàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

限 pairs ⻖ (mound, written 阜) with 艮 as a sound part; the mound side gives the sense of a boundary or limit.

Appears in

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