南城 (Nán chéng) — (place name) southern district of a city, especially Beijing; (place name) Nan Cheng (county or area in various regions)

Definition

A place name referring to the southern part of a city (notably Beijing) or a county named Nan Cheng in several provinces. The 'southern district' sense is the one learners will meet most often in modern city contexts.

noun
(place name) southern district of a cityespecially Beijing(place name) Nan Cheng (county or area in various regions)

Examples

  • 南城，。
    Tā zhù zài běi jīng Nán chéng, lí shì zhōng xīn yǒu diǎn yuǎn.
    He lives in the southern part of Beijing, a bit far from the city center.
  • 南城。
    Nán chéng Xiàn yǐ gǔ lǎo de chéng qiáng wén míng.
    Nan Cheng County is famous for its ancient city walls.
  • 南城。
    Cóng Nán chéng kāi chē dào jī chǎng zhī xū yào èr shí fēn zhōng.
    It only takes twenty minutes to drive from the southern district to the airport.

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.

南nánsouth
城chéngcity

南城 joins 南 for south with 城 for city, naming a southern city or district.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 南 →

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城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.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