代沟 (dài gōu) — generation gap | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

generation gap

代沟。
Fù mǔ hé hái zi zhī jiān cháng cháng yǒu dài gōu.
There is often a generation gap between parents and children.
代沟。
dài gōu Ràng liǎng dài rén hěn nán hù xiāng lǐ jiě.
The generation gap makes it hard for two generations to understand each other.
代沟，。
Yào suō xiǎo dài gōu, jiù xū yào duō gōu tōng.
To bridge the generation gap, you need to communicate more.

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.

代dàigeneration

“代” (generation) and “沟” (gap) picture a gap between generations.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻弋代

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

弋

弋yì代dài

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

In 代, 亻 shows a person, and 弋 gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 溝; 沟 is its simplified writing.

氵冓溝

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

冓

冓gòu溝gōu

Same sound today

The traditional form 溝 pairs 氵 (water) with 冓 for the sound; the simplified 沟 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical part.

Appears in