靠岸 (kào àn) — to dock, to pull into shore (of a ship or boat) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Used for ships and boats pulling into shore or docking at a port. Refers to the vessel reaching land, not people disembarking.

verb

to dockto pull into shore (of a ship or boat)

Examples

靠岸，。
Chuán mǎ shàng jiù yào kào àn le, qǐng dà jiā zhǔn bèi xià chuán.
The ship is about to dock — everyone please get ready to disembark.
，。
Zhè sōu huò lún zài gǎng kǒu kào le àn, zhèng zài xiè huò.
This cargo ship has docked at the port and is now unloading.
，靠岸。
Hǎi shàng fēng làng tài dà, yú chuán zhǐ néng xiān kào àn bì fēng.
The wind and waves are too strong at sea — the fishing boats have to dock first to take shelter.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

靠kàoapproach

Approaching 靠 the shore 岸 gives the sense of drawing into shore.

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.

告非靠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

告

告gào靠kào

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

靠 is made of 告 and 非: 告 gives the sound, and 非 gives the meaning.

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

屵屵àncliff

Sound part声符shēngfú

干

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

岸 shows 屵, a cliff, next to 干, which gives a clue to the sound; together they point to the edge of land.

Appears in

Boats & Water Travel

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