北极圈 (Běi jí quān) — Arctic Circle | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

Arctic Circle

Examples

北极圈。
Běi jí quān Shì dì qiú shàng zuì běi duān de wěi dù quān zhī yī.
The Arctic Circle is one of the northernmost latitude circles on Earth.
，北极圈。
Měi nián xià tiān, Běi jí quān nèi huì chū xiàn jí zhòu xiàn xiàng.
Every summer, the midnight sun appears inside the Arctic Circle.
北极圈。
Hěn duō tàn xiǎn jiā mèng xiǎng chuān yuè Běi jí quān.
Many explorers dream of crossing the Arctic Circle.

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.

北极North Pole

北běinorth极jípole

偏正Modifier + head

北极 “North Pole” and 圈 “circle” form the imaginary circle around the North Pole.

Characters in this word

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

The form 北 shows two people standing back to back. It originally meant 'back'.

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

木及极

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree, wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

及

及jí极jí

Same sound today

极 pairs 木 (tree, wood) with 及, which provides the sound.

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

囗卷圈

Meaning part形符xíngfú

囗囗wéi

Sound part声符shēngfú

卷

卷juàn圈quān

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

圈 is made of the outer 囗, an enclosure shape, and the inner 卷, which gives the sound.

Appears in

Geography & Landforms

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.