东湖 (Dōng hú) — East Lake (place name, e.g., a lake in Wuhan or… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

东湖 (Dōng Hú) literally means "East Lake" and is commonly used as a proper place name — most famously the large urban lake in Wuhan, a popular scenic spot.

noun

East Lake (place name, e.g., a lake in Wuhan or a district)

Examples

东湖。
Wǒ qù nián qù guò Dōng hú.
I went to East Lake last year.
东湖。
Dōng hú De fēng jǐng hěn měi.
The scenery of East Lake is very beautiful.
东湖。
Wǒ men zhōu mò qù Dōng hú huá chuán ba.
Let's go boating at East Lake this weekend.

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.

East Lake: '东' names the east side and '湖' is the lake.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

胡

胡hú湖hú

Same sound today

湖 pairs 水 (water) with 胡 (hú), which gives the sound.

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