保护区 (bǎo hù qū) — protected area; nature reserve

Definition

noun
protected areanature reserve
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 保护区。
    Zhè ge bǎo hù qū lǐ yǒu hěn duō zhēn xī dòng wù.
    There are many rare animals in this protected area.
  • 保护区。
    Zhèng fǔ jué dìng jiàn lì yí gè xīn de bǎo hù qū.
    The government decided to establish a new nature reserve.
  • 保护区。
    Yóu kè bù néng suí yì jìn rù bǎo hù qū.
    Visitors cannot enter the protected area at will.

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.

保护protect
保bǎoprotect护hùprotect
联合Side by side
区qūarea

保 and 护 both mean protect, and 区 is an area: a protected area.

Characters in this word

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

保 originally showed a person 人 carrying a child 子 on their back, which led to the sense of protecting.

Open 保 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
户
户hù护hù
Same sound today

护 combines 扌 (the hand form 手) with 户, which gives the sound hù.

Open 护 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 區; 区 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 區 is made from 匸 and 品; the simplified 区 is a shorthand.

Open 区 →
Appears in
Environment & Ecology

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