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原处 (yuán chù) — original place

Definition

noun
original place

Examples

  • 原处。
    Qǐng bǎ zhè běn shū fàng huí yuán chù.
    Please put this book back in its original place.
  • 原处。
    Tā zhàn zài yuán chù bú dòng.
    He stood still in his original place.
  • ，原处。
    Lí kāi wū zi hòu qǐng suǒ hǎo mén, bǎ yào shi fàng huí yuán chù.
    After leaving the room, please lock the door and put the key back where it was.

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.

原yuánoriginal
处chùplace

原 means “original” and 处 means “place”, giving the place where something first was.

Characters in this word

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

原 combines 泉 (spring) and 厂 (cliff), picturing a spring bursting from a cliff-side, which gives the sense of origin or source.

Open 原 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 處; 处 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
夂夂zhǐ
几几jǐtable
Sound part声符shēngfú
虍
虍hū處chǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 處 pairs 虍, giving the sound, with 夂 and 几, a table, as meaning parts. The simplified 处 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 处 →
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