临街 (lín jiē) — facing the street; to be situated on a street

Definition

临街 means a building, window, or door 'faces the street' or 'fronts the street' — used to describe location, often paired with 的 + noun (临街的阳台).

verb

facing the streetto be situated on a street

临街，。
Zhè jiā xiǎo diàn lín jiē, gù kè hěn róng yì kàn dào.
This small shop faces the street, so customers can easily see it.
临街。
Wǒ men zài lín jiē de yáng tái shàng hē chá liáo tiān.
We drink tea and chat on the balcony that faces the street.
临街，。
Zhè jiā cān tīng lín jiē, luò dì chuāng hěn dà.
This restaurant fronts the street and has large floor-to-ceiling windows.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

To 临 (face) the 街 (street): situated along a street.

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 臨; 临 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 臨, 人 is a person, 臣 is an eye, and 品 is objects, showing a person looking down at objects.

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

圭

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

街 combines 行 and 圭: 行 is the meaning part, and 圭 is the sound part. Originally, 圭 drew a pair of ritual axes, not earth.

Appears in