三环 (sān huán) — Third Ring Road (in Beijing or other Chinese cities)

Definition

Refers to the Third Ring Road, a major ring road encircling central Beijing. Compared with 二环 (Second Ring) and 四环 (Fourth Ring), it sits in the middle — farther out than 二环 but inside the larger 四环.

noun
Third Ring Road (in Beijing or other Chinese cities)
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 三环。
    Wǒ jiā zhù zài sān huán fù jìn.
    My home is near the Third Ring Road.
  • 三环，。
    sān huán Hěn dǔ, zuì hǎo zuò dì tiě.
    The Third Ring Road is very congested; you'd better take the subway.
  • 三环。
    Cóng sān huán dào jī chǎng xū yào yí gè xiǎo shí.
    It takes an hour from the Third Ring Road to the airport.

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.

三sānthird
环huánring

The “三” (third) and “环” (ring) together name the third ring road.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

Open 三 →

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 環; 环 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
睘
睘qióng環huán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 環 pairs 玉 (jade) with a sound part; the simplified 环 is a shorthand and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 环 →

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