青瓦台 (Qīng wǎ tái) — the Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae), the former pres…

Definition

noun

the Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae), the former presidential residence of South Korea in Seoul (1948–2022), now a public park

青瓦台。
Wǒ qù nián qù shǒu ěr cān guān le Qīng wǎ tái.
I visited the Blue House in Seoul last year.
青瓦台，。
Qīng wǎ tái Yuán lái shì hán guó zǒng tǒng de guān dǐ, xiàn zài xiàng gōng zhòng kāi fàng.
The Blue House was originally the residence of the South Korean president, and now it is open to the public.
青瓦台，。
Zài Qīng wǎ tái qián miàn de guǎng chǎng shàng, yóu kè men kě yǐ pāi zhào liú niàn.
On the plaza in front of the Blue House, tourists can take photos as souvenirs.

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.

青瓦blue tile

偏正Modifier + head

台táiplatform

The 青瓦 blue tile and 台 platform meanings combine to name a blue-tiled building.

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.

An early form of 青 combined 生 and 井, both used for sound; the modern form has changed.

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

瓦’s shape is a picture of fired earthenware pottery or a tile.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臺; 台 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 台 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (窗台, 电视台) it is 臺; in others (台灯, 台球) (台风) it is 檯 or 台 or 颱.

The traditional form 臺 is the 喬 + 室 form; earlier versions combined a sound part with 室, and an old reading saw it as a watch tower.

Appears in