过冬 (guò dōng) — to pass the winter, to winter (in a place) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Verb meaning to spend or pass the winter in a place (birds wintering in the south, retirees going to Hainan). It pairs with a location where the winter is spent, not a duration.

verb

to pass the winterto winter (in a place)

Examples

过冬。
Zhè xiē niǎo měi nián dōu lái zhè lǐ guò dōng.
These birds come here every year to winter.
。
Wǒ men zài nán fāng guò le yí gè wēn nuǎn de dōng.
We spent a warm winter in the south.
过冬。
Tā dǎ suàn qù hǎi nán guò dōng.
He plans to go to Hainan for the winter.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

过 means pass and 冬 means winter, so it describes passing through the cold season.

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辵辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

咼

咼wāi過guò

Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

Climate & Seasons

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