三角洲 (sān jiǎo zhōu) — delta (geographical landform)

Definition

noun
delta (geographical landform)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 三角洲。
    Cháng jiāng sān jiǎo zhōu shì zhōng guó zhòng yào de jīng jì qū yù.
    The Yangtze River Delta is an important economic region in China.
  • 三角洲。
    Zhè ge sān jiǎo zhōu de miàn jī měi nián dōu zài kuò dà.
    The area of this delta is expanding every year.
  • 三角洲。
    Ní luó hé sān jiǎo zhōu shì gǔ āi jí wén míng de fā yuán dì.
    The Nile Delta is the birthplace of ancient Egyptian civilization.

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.

三角triangle
三sānthree角jiǎocorner
偏正Modifier + head
洲zhōulandform

三角 means three corners, and 洲 means landform; together they name a triangular delta.

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 →

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

The form 角 is a picture of a horn.

Open 角 →

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
州
州zhōu洲zhōu
Same sound today

洲 is built from 水 (water) and 州, which gives the sound.

Open 洲 →
Appears in
Geography & Landforms

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.