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两极 (liǎng jí) — (noun) the North and South Poles (geographic); (noun) two opposite poles; extremes (of opinions, values, etc.)

Definition

两极 has two senses: literally the North and South Poles (北极 + 南极 together), and figuratively two opposing extremes in opinions or values. It is NOT a synonym of 价值观 — it describes the gap or opposition between two sides.

noun
the North and South Poles (geographic)two opposite polesextremes (of opinions, values, etc.)

Examples

  • 两极。
    Dì qiú de liǎng jí fēn bié shì nán jí hé běi jí.
    The Earth's two poles are the South Pole and the North Pole.
  • 两极。
    Tā men de yì jiàn zǒu xiàng le liǎng jí.
    Their opinions moved to opposite extremes.
  • 两极。
    Zhè liǎng zhǒng guān diǎn xíng chéng le xiān míng de liǎng jí.
    These two viewpoints form a sharp polarity.

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.

两liǎngtwo
极jípole; extreme

两 gives the number two, 极 gives pole or extreme, so the result is the two poles.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 兩; 两 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 兩 is described as combining 一 and 㒳. The simplified 两 is a later abbreviation.

Open 两 →

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
木木mùtree, wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí极jí
Same sound today

极 pairs 木 (tree, wood) with 及, which provides the sound.

Open 极 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Abstract ConceptsGeography & Landforms

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