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乡下 (xiāng xia) — countryside; rural area

Definition

Everyday spoken term for 'the countryside' — where you live, contrasted with the city. 农村 is the more neutral/common term; 田园 is literary/pastoral. 野外 means wilderness, not inhabited countryside.

noun
countrysiderural area
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 乡下。
    Zhù zài xiāng xia kě yǐ hū xī dào xīn xiān kōng qì.
    Living in the countryside lets you breathe fresh air.
  • 乡下。
    Tā tuì xiū hòu bān dào le xiāng xia shēng huó.
    He moved to the countryside to live after retirement.
  • 乡下。
    xiāng xia De shēng huó jié zòu bǐ chéng shì màn duō le.
    The pace of life in the countryside is much slower than in the city.

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.

乡xiāngtownship
下xiàarea

乡 names the township and 下 refers to the area around it, together meaning the countryside.

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 鄉; 乡 is its simplified writing.

  • 𠨍𠨍𠨍two people facing each other
  • 皀皀jía round-mouthed food vessel

The traditional form 鄉 combines two people facing each other with a round-mouthed food vessel, depicting a feast. The village meaning is connected to this feasting event.

Open 乡 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

下 is drawn as a short horizontal line below a long curved line.

Open 下 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Countryside & Rural

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