冬天 (dōng tiān) — winter | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

The everyday word for 'winter' (the season). 寒冬 (HSK 6) is a literary variant used in writing to emphasize bitter cold.

noun

winter

Measure word · 个

Examples

冬天，。
dōng tiān Hěn lěng, yào duō chuān yī fu.
Winter is very cold; you should wear more clothes.
冬天。
Xiǎo péng yǒu xǐ huan zài dōng tiān wán xuě.
Children like to play in the snow in winter.
冬天。
Wǒ dōng tiān xǐ huan hē rè chá.
In winter I like to drink hot tea.

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.

The first part names the cold season and the second names time, so together they mean the winter season.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng天tiān

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 3 Climate & Seasons 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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