偏远 (piān yuǎn) — remote, far from civilization

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liánhéSide by side

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

偏piānremote
远yuǎnfar

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.

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.

Open 偏 →

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
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.

Open 远 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Geography & Landforms

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