东北部 (dōng běi bù) — northeastern part; northeast section

Definition

noun

northeastern partnortheast section

东北部。
Zhè ge guó jiā de dōng běi bù yǒu hěn duō chéng shì.
The northeastern part of this country has many cities.
东北部。
Wǒ men zhù zài zhè ge chéng shì de dōng běi bù.
We live in the northeastern part of this city.
东北部。
dōng běi bù De dōng tiān hěn lěng.
The northeastern part is very cold in winter.

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.

东北northeast

联合Coordinate

东北部 combines 东 (east), 北 (north), and 部 (part) to mean the northeastern part.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 東; 东 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 東 originally drew a full bag tied at both ends. The simplified 东 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

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

The form 北 shows two people standing back to back. It originally meant 'back'.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

咅

咅pǒu部bù

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

部 pairs 咅, which gives the sound, with 邑. It originally named a place in today's Gansu.

Appears in