偏远 (piān yuǎn) — remote, far from civilization | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

偏远 (piānyuǎn) describes a place that is far from cities and hard to reach — stronger and more remote than 远, and more focused on inaccessibility than 遥远 (which can also mean 'far in time').

adjective

remotefar from civilization

Examples

偏远。
Zhè ge piān yuǎn de xiǎo cūn zhuāng hěn nán dào dá.
This remote small village is very hard to reach.
偏远。
Tā lái zì yí gè piān yuǎn de dì qū.
He comes from a remote area.
偏远。
piān yuǎn De shān lù kāi chē yào hěn xiǎo xīn.
You have to be very careful when driving on remote mountain roads.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

偏远 combines 'remote' and 'far' to mean far from centers.

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.

亻扁偏

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

扁

扁biǎn偏piān

Same sound today

偏 combines 亻 (人, a person) with 扁, which gives the sound.

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

辶元远

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

元

元yuán远yuǎn

Same sound today

远 combines 辶, meaning walk, with 元, used for its sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Geography & Landforms

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