东城区 (Dōng chéng qū) — Dongcheng District (a district in central Beiji…

Definition

noun

Dongcheng District (a district in central Beijing)

东城区。
Dōng chéng qū Shì běi jīng de zhōng xīn chéng qū zhī yī.
Dongcheng District is one of Beijing's central urban districts.
东城区，。
Wǒ zhù zài Dōng chéng qū, lí gù gōng hěn jìn.
I live in Dongcheng District, very close to the Forbidden City.
东城区。
Dōng chéng qū Yǒu hěn duō zhù míng de hú tòng hé sì hé yuàn.
Dongcheng District has many famous hutongs and siheyuan courtyards.

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.

东城

偏正Modifier + head

区qūdistrict

东 means east, 城 city, and 区 district, forming the East City district.

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

土成城

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔsoil

Sound part声符shēngfú

成

Same sound today

城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 區; 区 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 區 is made from 匸 and 品; the simplified 区 is a shorthand.