内河 (nèi hé) — inland river; river that flows entirely within a country's territory

Definition

A technical/transport term for a river that flows entirely within one country (does not cross international borders), typically used in shipping and infrastructure contexts.

noun
inland riverriver that flows entirely within a country's territory
Measure word · 条
Easily confused

Examples

  • 内河。
    Zhè tiáo nèi hé lián jiē le liǎng gè zhòng yào chéng shì.
    This inland river connects two important cities.
  • 内河。
    nèi hé Yùn shū bǐ hǎi yùn gèng ān quán.
    Inland river transport is safer than sea transport.
  • 内河，。
    Zhōng guó yǒu hěn duō nèi hé, bǐ rú cháng jiāng hé huáng hé.
    China has many inland rivers, such as the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers.

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nèiinside
河hériver

“内” (inside) specifies that “河” is a river within a country or region.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
何
何hé河hé
Same sound today

河 pairs 水 (water) with 何, which gives the sound. The 水 part marks it as a word for a river.

Open 河 →

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