仙后座 (xiān hòu zuò) — Cassiopeia (constellation)

Definition

noun
Cassiopeia (constellation)

Examples

  • ，仙后座。
    Jīn wǎn de yè kōng hěn qīng xī, kě yǐ qīng chǔ dì kàn jiàn xiān hòu zuò.
    The night sky is very clear tonight, and you can clearly see Cassiopeia.
  • 仙后座W，。
    xiān hòu zuò De xíng zhuàng xiàng yí gè zì mǔ W, hěn róng yì biàn rèn.
    Cassiopeia's shape looks like the letter W and is very easy to recognize.
  • ，仙后座。
    Zài běi bàn qiú de qiū jì, xiān hòu zuò chū xiàn zài tóu dǐng fù jìn.
    In the autumn of the Northern Hemisphere, Cassiopeia appears near the zenith.

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.

仙后immortal queen
仙xiānimmortal后hòuqueen
偏正Modifier + head
座zuòconstellation

仙后 means immortal queen, and 座 names a constellation, so the whole is the immortal queen constellation.

Characters in this word

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

仙 pairs 亻 (person) with 山 (mountain), showing a person moving into a mountain to become immortal; 山 also gives the sound.

Open 仙 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →

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
广广guǎnghouse on cliff
Sound part声符shēngfú
坐
坐zuò座zuò
Same sound today

座 pairs 广, a house on a cliff, with 坐 to give the sound.

Open 座 →

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