北海 (Běi hǎi) — North Sea; Beihai Park (a historic imperial gar… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

North SeaBeihai Park (a historic imperial garden in Beijing)

Examples

北海。
Běi hǎi Shì ōu zhōu běi bù de yí piàn hǎi yù.
The North Sea is a sea area in northern Europe.
北海。
Běi hǎi Shì běi jīng zhù míng de lǚ yóu jǐng diǎn.
Beihai Park is a famous tourist attraction in Beijing.
北海。
Hěn duō yóu kè xǐ huan zài Běi hǎi huá chuán.
Many tourists like to row boats at Beihai Park.

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 means north and 海 means sea, forming the North Sea or North Lake.

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.

氵每海

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

每měi海hǎi

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

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

Appears in

China — Places Geography & Landforms

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