内城 (nèi chéng) — inner city (the area within the inner walls of a traditional Chinese city)

Definition

The walled inner core of a traditional Chinese city, distinct from 外城 (the outer ring). In modern usage, mainly a historical term referring to old cities like Beijing.

noun
inner city (the area within the inner walls of a traditional Chinese city)
Measure word · 座

Examples

  • 内城。
    Běi jīng de nèi chéng bǎo cún le xǔ duō gǔ lǎo de hú tòng.
    Beijing's inner city preserves many ancient hutongs.
  • 内城。
    Gǔ dài chéng shì tōng cháng fēn wéi nèi chéng hé wài chéng liǎng bù fen.
    Ancient cities were usually divided into an inner city and an outer city.
  • 内城。
    Zhè zuò sì miào wèi yú nèi chéng de zhōng xīn dì dài.
    This temple is located in the central area of the inner city.

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.

内nèiinner
城chéngcity

内 marks the inner part, and 城 names the city or wall.

Characters in this word

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

  • 入入rùto enter
  • 冂冂jiōnghouse

The shape shows 入 entering into 冂, a house, so it pictures bringing something indoors, giving the sense inside.

Open 内 →

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
土土tǔsoil
Sound part声符shēngfú
成
成chéng城chéng
Same sound today

城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.

Open 城 →

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