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金字塔 (jīn zì tǎ) — pyramid

Definition

noun
pyramid
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 金字塔。
    Āi jí de jīn zì tǎ fēi cháng yǒu míng.
    The pyramids of Egypt are very famous.
  • 金字塔。
    Wǒ men cān guān le yí zuò sì qiān nián qián de jīn zì tǎ.
    We visited a four-thousand-year-old pyramid.
  • 金字塔。
    Gǔ dài rén rú hé jiàn zào jīn zì tǎ réng rán shì yí gè mí.
    How ancient people built the pyramids remains a mystery.

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.

金字gold character
金jīngold字zìcharacter
偏正Modifier + head
塔tǎtower

金 means gold, 字 means character, and 塔 means tower, so the shape is like the character 金.

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.

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

Open 金 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
子
子zǐ字zì
Same sound today

字 pairs 宀 (roof) with 子 (child); 子 gives the sound, while 宀 relates to the meaning.

Open 字 →

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
Landmarks & Attractions

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